Persona 4: Flip the Script
by KingJeric
Summary: FINISHED, BUT NOT REALLY. What if the Persona 3 cast were the ones to solve the Inaba murder mystery? What if we saw the story from a character who took a backseat for the real hero? What if the author could come up with a better tagline?
1. A Day in the Life

**Persona 4: Flip the Script**

_A group of teenagers, regular people, thrown into a supernatural world full of life-threatening forces and unbelievable powers._

_Like the others, I was just a normal guy until the day we discovered the power of Persona._

_This day - this normal, peaceful day - was the start of our perilous journey._

**Chapter 1: A Day in the Life**

Yasoinaba. What a beautiful place it is. Lively in nature, with a small town community, and just a peaceful sense in general. Nothing could sheathe a person's appreciation for the bright, sunny days that...

"It's raining again," came a small voice from the opposite side of the room.

"Big surprise," my tired voice answered with a yawn, "You wanna get me some water, Ken-kun?"

"No problem," was his abrupt answer. I raised a hand and rubbed my eyes until they focused on the calendar ahead. It read April 12, 2010.I stood up and fiddled with the blinds of my window until they revealed what was outside. The quiet pitter-patter of rain drops hit my window with the aggression of an automatic weapon. Yeah, it rained in Inaba. It rained a _lot_ in Inaba.

I heard small feet work their way up the stairs outside my door before my little brother showed up with a glass full of water. "Here," he immediately said as he offered the drink my way. Ken wasn't the typical obnoxious little sibling most people pictured when I'd mention him. Rather, he was more of a loyal dog. Except he was human. He'd do anything to make my day better. We didn't even have the same biological parents, yet we made our own brotherly connection.

"Quick on the draw, little guy," I replied, messing up his hair using the palm of my hand.

"You know it, Ketsui." Glad he called me that. I hated using honorifics within the family. Or at all, for that matter.

I sleepily made my way down the stairs from my room to the washroom, hoping not to fall. Having a room at the top of the house was great, even more so since our house was huge, but if I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, there was a chance of me falling and breaking my neck on something.

I blinked my eyes into focus as I looked through the mirror. I didn't feel too good, and my appearance reflected that at the moment. Under my plainly brown eyes were the bags that I earned for having an inconsistent sleeping pattern. I raised a hand to scratch the top of my dark brown head of hair, which was always cut to the perfect length of being just long enough to naturally poke out. It was like a gift from the heavens. Never had to spend time on my hair as long as I kept it around this length.

Fifteen minutes later I was decent enough to leave the house. My Yasogami High uniform didn't call for much order. The only rules I had to follow were to wear black pants and the uniform jacket. I threw on a yellow dress shirt before adding the weather-appropriate jacket. On my way out of the door, I spotted Ken gazing at the TV across the room. "Since when did you not have school?" I asked, picking up an umbrella.

"Don't worry. I have time for this," he calmly responded. 'This' being the morning news.

"You're like ten years old, watch some cartoons," I recommended with a chuckle. He didn't really care for it. "Alright, well, tell Mom that I'm taking the good umbrella!" I called before I made my way through the door.

The rain was much louder outside, almost to an annoying level. Almost. When you lived in Inaba, the rain wasn't a part of the weather, it was a part of the air.

Not ten seconds into the walk to school my phone had gone off. I nabbed it from my pocket with my spare hand.

It read, "Newwwww sem starts 2day! Stay awake, Ketsui!" The message was from one Yumi Ozawa. Friendly as she was, I would have never let that girl get anywhere close to me. She was an active Drama Club member. That spelled trouble. I would have sent her something back, but as far as she knew, my hands were full.

Reaching the front gates of Yasogami High, I took a deep breath, knowing well that for the rest of the year, I'd have to deal with _him._ On my way to the classroom, I found myself with two hands on my shoulders. "Don't go in there," warned a familiar voice. "Our homeroom teacher, it's..."

"Morooka. I know, I know. You'll survive, Junpei." I made some distance between my panicked friend and I. Junpei stood upright and adjusted his cap.

"They had crappy teachers in my old school, ya know, but _none _as horrible as _that guy!"_ he complained. "Oh, but there's some new transfer student from the city."

I gestured for him to head back to the classroom and I followed. "Like you, huh? Might be interesting."

With utmost bravery, the two of us entered the classroom, us trying to not to look toward the front desk, where the very manifestation of pure evil was likely to be standing. My eyes scanned over the room, and the monster was nowhere to be seen.

"Guess King Moron's not around yet," I commented, before turning around to face Junpei, and I saw the door slide open behind him.

"Maybe he went to see a dentist for once," Junpei joked. My eyes widened and I raised a finger, pointing behind him. "It's hard to tell if that monster can eat at all. Uhh... what's the matter, Ketsui?"

The aforementioned monster was standing right behind Junpei. "...It's right behind me, isn't it?" The two of us erupted in childlike laughter as Morooka's hand found its way atop Junpei's shoulder.

"Very funny, Iori. You can tell that one again when you're in detention tomorrow!" grumbled Morooka, with the lack of excitement simply oozing from his eyes.

Junpei and I took our seats as some of the other students had a laugh over it.

A thin finger poked my shoulder from behind. "Don't you think you two get enough detentions already?" asked the voice of Yukari Takeba, being the upstanding student she was. Other than just being a hard worker, she was upstanding in her own ways. She always boasted shorter skirts than everyone else as well as a thin, shapely form partially hidden by a pink cardigan that she wore over her uniform. Being a childhood friend of mine, I never seriously flirted with her, but any other guy would.

"Nah, not really," Junpei answered, "but I think Ketsui over here's gotta balance it out and get one for himself."

I took that as a challenge. "Just watch me," I proudly added with a grin on my face.

My eyes moved up to the front desk. To the side stood a male student with odd dark-grey hair. He wore the uniform as anyone else did, with little to no customization aside from leaving the jacket open. It was likely that his old school had stricter uniform policies. I immediately identified him as the new student.

"Alright, alright, shut yer traps!" snapped the voice of Mr. Morooka. The room found silence within seconds. "I'm Kinshiro Morooka," he spat, "Your homeroom teacher from today forward!" My eyes went up to his barren forehead equipped with a badly hidden comb-over on top. "First things first! Just 'cause it's spring, doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons!" _Baboons? Really?_

"That's what I'm lookin' for," I quietly uttered just loud enough for my two nearby friends to hear. I skimmed the room for a proper assistant in pushing the creature's buttons. My sight stopped on one Mitsuru Kirijo, who was sitting to my right, paying more attention than most of the people in the room. She was ideal for it. She was prim and proper, with charismatically bouncy red hair that went down most of her back, falling past her face in curls. She wore a white knit sweater over her uniform, leaving much to a teenaged boy's imagination. The girl was always perceived as a beauty by the alumni of Inaba, appearing as the ideal portrayal of elegance. Although her manners were always top-notch, it made me wonder if she had some sort of repressed 'wild side' that I didn't know about. She and Yukari were close friends, but she was always so focused on working that she almost never talked to anyone in class.

The freak show of a teacher continued, "As long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!"

Chance given. Chance taken. "Hey, Mitsuru-san," I interrupted, making myself comfortable by leaning my chair back into Yukari's desk.

"Uh-um..." The girl was clearly distracted and didn't expect to hear her name and held no comprehensible response. After a second used to process what I said, she replied with a "Yes?"

I felt King Moron's squinting look on me, and I smiled. "I just wanted you to know that I think you look absolutely stunning today," I started. She smiled and released a small laugh. I continued, "I hope that if you were to _not _be as 'pure as the driven snow,' it would be my doing." Mitsuru's eyes widened, face slightly turning red, and the short-haired girl sitting next to her cupped her mouth as she giggled.

"Uhm... Thank you," was her answer, voice clear and calm despite the surprise. She turned her attention back to the front.

"Didn't you hear what I just said! I'll see you in detention tomorrow, Kibo!" barked Morooka.

"That was a bit much, don't you think?" Yukari scolded, "Even for you, Ketsui!" Ignoring the girl's disapproval, Junpei proudly patted me on the back.

"Relax, Mitsuru knows my sense of humour," I told Yukari, before turning my attention to Morooka.

His arm stretched out and he pointed to the lone student beside him. "Now, this sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage!"

"Wow," Junpei whispered, "I'd be pretty pissed if I was him."

Morooka continued, "...and he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him!"

"Just wait for him to pound King Moron right in the face," Junpei added, sounding ever more excited.

The transfer student stepped forward and introduced himself. "Hey, I'm Souji Seta." He then pointed at Morooka with his thumb, "But is this guy seriously our teacher?"

The other students were surprised to see a new kid outright insult to Morooka. I was impressed. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," I told Yukari, "Tell him to sit beside you. No one's there, anyway." Yukari nodded, still not impressed with the people she had befriended.

"Hrrn," Morooka growled, "That's it. You're on my shit list, with those other two ruffians!" he informed, pointing at Junpei and I. "You've got detention with them after classes tomorrow. Now, listen... This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. So you better not even _think_ of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them!"

"What is he _talking_ about?" asked Yukari.

I raised a hand. "Mr. Morooka, did you just accuse our new friend of being a woman-beater?"

He turned his head to match eyes with me in an instant. "Be quiet!" he ordered. "Go take a seat," he said to the transfer student.

Yukari took her queue. "Sit over here, new guy!"

The grey-haired student made his way to our little square and sat next to Yukari. She whispered, "He's horrible, huh?"

Souji touched his forehead. "Tell me about it."

I offered him a fist-bump. "Nice to meet ya, Souji Seta," I said as he wordlessly returned a fist. "I'm Ketsui Kibo, this here's Junpei Iori, and that munchkin is Yukari Takeba."

"Nice to meet you all," he politely replied.

Yukari seemed distracted by something else. "Munchkin?"

"Yeah, munchkin," I confirmed.

"Why 'munchkin'?"

"'Cause that's what you are, Yuka-tan! You've always been our little munchkin!" Junpei answered for me.

The intercom tone played, interrupting the light laughter that had erupted within the three men in our group. "All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

Chatter rose within confused students as the sound of sirens came to our ears. A number of students gathered at the window, one of them noting how close the sirens sounded.

"Does it always get this foggy?" asked Souji, pointing toward the window which we couldn't see two feet out of.

"Sometimes. Never seen it _this_ thick, though." I answered.

My attention was turned toward Mitsuru, who was being approached by a short student who looked like he was looking for something big. "Excuse me, is it true that Mayumi Yamano is staying at your family's inn?"

Mitsuru held herself well. "We have a policy against releasing personal information to the press. While you aren't exactly press, I still can't discuss these things."

"What's that guy talking about?" asked a curious Junpei, who was scratching his goatee.

"I think I heard about that," Souji answered, "Some politician was having an affair with an anchor lady or something. That Yamano woman."

I remembered Ken watching that on the news the other day. "Yeah, the guy's name was Taro Namatame. He's married to that enka singer, Misuzu Hiiragi, and he still cheated on her," I explained. "Guy's got some balls."

To the side, I noticed Yukari and Mitsuru talking about something I didn't know about. Naturally, I was curious. "Did you try that thing I told you about the other day? You know, that thing about rainy nights?"

Mitsuru scoffed. "Yukari, you know I've never been the superstitious type."

"Well, it's just... I heard a guy in the school say something like 'That newscaster, Mayumi Yamano is my soul mate!'" Yukari explained... whatever she was explaining.

The intercom played its tone again, telling us "There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone."

Yukari brought Mitsuru to our little group. "Nice little stunt there, Ketsui-kun," spoke the redhead, "but I suggest you choose a different object of affection next time, alright?"

"Pfff, it's your fault, y'know? You're the one who's gotta go be so hot all the time," I joked. Mitsuru gave a short laugh and shook her head.

"Oh, anyway, Souji-san!" I called over to the new guy, "This is Mitsuru Kirijo, my long-time friend of... a long time."

"Pleasure meeting you," was Mitsuru's introduction.

As I had expected, her passively attractive behaviour left Souji tongue-tied with his messy introduction of "N-nice meeting you, Mist... uh, Mitsuru-san."

"Yo, Souji! You wanna come grab a bite with us?" Junpei offered, implying he was going to pay for anyone but himself. Souji took the offer and we soon left the school.

When our group of five reached the entrance gates, a strange-looking boy approached Mitsuru.

"You're Mitsuru, right?" was his question. The kid was just plain creepy. Everything about him seemed normal, except that he had these empty, colourless eyes that reminded me of a fish's. Judging from his suit, he wasn't from Yasogami High. "Y-you want to go hang out somewhere?" _Terrible. That was terrible._

"Excuse me?" asked Mitsuru, trying to stay as polite as possible, rather convincingly.

A few other students crowded the scene. "Hah! Guy's trying to get a date with Mitsuru. Good luck, buddy," said one of them.

"A date, I mean," the kid piped up, "Um, so... Will you come or not?"

Mitsuru didn't need more than two seconds to respond with "I'm sorry, but no. I'm busy at the mo-"

"FINE!" screamed the boy, almost like a toddler would, as he stormed off away from the school.

The five of us watched until he was out of sight, absolutely confused.

"Sorry about that," Mitsuru apologized, reclaiming her usual well-held posture.

"Man, I remember when she shot _me _down," uttered Junpei. "At least I could say my approach was better than _that_."

"I don't actually remember doing that, Junpei," she answered, sounding serious.

"Oh, well in that case, you wanna go out sometime?" he asked with a smile.

She abruptly answered, "...No."

"Ouch. See that? _That_ is what you did last time."

Seeing as a small crowd was gathering over the scene that the strange kid made, we decided to continue walking. "Damn, this fog is really thick," I commented as we progressed.

"Yeah, it's messing with my eyes," said an irritated Junpei.

We walked along some crop fields when Yukari brought up the subject of our small town. "There really is nothing here, is there?" Then, she thought for a moment. "Oh, but there's the Kirijo Inn. Mitsuru's family runs it. It's pretty much the pride of Inaba."

Junpei thought it was a good time to interrupt. "By that, she means that it has a hot spring bath."

Souji sounded interested for the first time in a while. "Sounds great. I'll check it out sometime."

Yukari, being the voluntary assistant she always was, decided to pop open a can of an unnecessary question. "So, you think Mitsuru's cute, huh?"

Souji stopped walking for a second. Seeing as he wasn't gonna react to the question fast enough, I covered, saying "Yukari! You've got it all wrong. _You're_ the cute one. Mitsuru's the _beautiful_ one."

Yukari didn't seem to like that. "What? I'm not beautiful? Is that what you're saying?" she accused in hotheadedness.

Mitsuru made the recovery, claiming "Yukari, it's just Ketsui. Don't listen to him."

"Actually," Junpei broke in, "Yukari herself's pretty popular around our school, but she's never had a boyfriend! What's up with that?"

I was expecting an irritated retort, but instead, Yukari seemed distracted by the commotion down the street. The five of us headed toward it. I spotted a large number of people as well as a few police cars. I listened in on the commotion, eavesdropping on a conversation between two middle-aged women.

Nothing seemed too interesting, until I heard, "I can't believe a dead body showed up around here..."


	2. Small Town Crime

__A death in our small, peaceful town was a surprise. __

__Definitely not a pleasant one.__

__This was the time where we got our first hint of the dangers we were about to face, and those behind it.__

**Chapter 2: Small Town Crime**

"How could it have ended up hanging from an antenna?" asked a curious voice.

"Someone died..?" Yukari voiced, eyes wide.

A worried-looking man approached our group. His black hair was short and unkempt, not unlike mine. He looked stressed, which was easily visible given the fact that he looked in need of a shave. He wore an grey dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the neck with a red tie, and he carried a dark brown coat behind him. _Hold on_. Scruffy hair, five o'clock shadow, unbuttoned shirt, sloppily-fixed tie, and a brown coat? _Yep_, I thought, _this guy's a detective._

As he took a look at our group, he mumbled to himself, "That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here." He gave the new guy a look that revealed the fact that they knew each other. "I'm Detective Dojima, Souji's uncle. Uhh, well, how should I say this? I hope you get along with him." He took a look around the scene. "But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home."

Just then, a man in a dark blue suit sprinted passed Dojima and wasted no time emptying his lunch all over the nearby grass. "Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie?" the detective said in annoyance, "You want to be sent back to the central office?" Dojima turned around and headed back to the apparent crime scene.

I took a look at the sickly Adachi, before Junpei said, "Seems like he's green in more ways than one."

"I guess this is what the announcement was about," said a curious Souji.

"Maybe we should eat together some other time," Mitsuru's voice calmly suggested, "Today doesn't exactly seem... appropriate."

"I can agree with that," Yukari added, unnecessarily vouching for her friend's good idea.

Junpei adjusted his cap. "In that case, I'm gonna head home."

"Alright, seems we're all taking off. Seeya tomorrow, new guy!"

Souji wordlessly nodded and we all parted ways.

I entered the house hearing the theme song of a familiar tokusatsu show before the sound was quickly shifted to that of a restaurant commercial. "What'cha watchin', Ken?" I teased, knowing his answer.

"Nothing," he said, failing to conceal the lie in his voice.

"Haha, okay," I replied with a fist to his shoulder, "You weren't totally watching Featherman R at all."

"Y-you be quiet," he answered in a panic. "That show's for kids."

Not long after, my mother burst in the front door, quickly asking Ken for the remote. "Did you see what happened?" she asked, not really identifying who she was talking to.

I answered the best I could, saying, "Sort of. When I got there, they'd already taken the body down."

"Body..?" Ken wondered out loud, "Someone died?"

TV remote in hands, Mom shifted the channel to the evening news. "Around noon today, a woman was found dead near the Samegawa River in Inaba," said the onscreen anchorman. "The deceased has been identified as Ms. Mayumi Yamano, a 27-year-old reporter at the local television station."

_Mayumi Yamano..._ I thought, _That name's been popping up all over the place today._

The report continued, "The body was found hanging from a large television antenna atop a local resident's roof. Authorities are uncertain as to why the body was in such a state. With the cause of death also uncertain, police continue to investigate whether the death was an accident or a homicide."

In annoyance, the bottom of my fist hit the coffee table below. "How could that have been an accident? We've got a murderer in this place!"

"Oh, don't say that," was Mother's answer, "You're gonna scare somebody."

"Well, okay. I'll just keep on living without a care in the world, knowing some lady jumped from a plane or something and impaled herself onto an antenna."

"Well, if it _was_ a murderer, I hope they catch him soon. Your father's going to be returning home in a few weeks, and I don't want him worrying about a criminal on the loose. You know how he is."

"Yep," I replied, "Dad's always been his own action hero." I was damn glad that he was. He taught me to take initiative, to make decisions when no one else could, and to go on wild goose chases when there was rumour of something awesome to be found. While his job kept him away from home often, he never stopped short of keeping things interesting for me. Unfortunately, having lost his biological father, Ken seemed to have trouble connecting with him.

Seconds later, a commercial played on the screen. "At Junes, every day is customer appreciation day," spoke an excited female voice. "Every day's great at your Junes!"

Ken emitted a disgusted noise at the sound of the jingle. "Not this again."

"You got something against Junes?" I asked in boredom.

"No. It's just that the younger kids at my school seem to absolutely love that jingle. Hearing it about five times a day, I think it's safe to say that I'm sick of it by now."

I slept early that night, tired from an unknown force. Maybe the fog had some sort of fatiguing effect on the air. I didn't know.

The next morning, it was thankfully not raining. However, the thick fog from before still engulfed the skies. Halfway to school, I received another text from my biggest fan. It read, "Morning! :D Didn't catch u at all yesterday." _That's because you're a psychopath._ "Did u c the news? I expect u to protect me from the killer, Ketsui!" _Uhm, okay. Sure._

I found my way to the classroom, only to get an unsurprising dose of Morooka verbally harassing the students once again. "My job is to waste my precious time teaching you assholes philosophy!" he spat through the improperly-angled fence that was made up of his teeth, "Now, get your books out!"

Shortly after the dull class, Junpei and Souji were talking about something that I didn't really care about, until I heard the words 'grilled steak'.

"Count me in!" I announced.

Junpei's hand met his forehead. "Why do you always gotta get interested when I'm talking about food?"

"I'll tag along," came Yukari's voice from behind me.

"Okay," Junpei sighed, "But now I have to cheap out."

"I'm fine with that," Yukari added, "Mitsuru, do you wanna come?"

The near-flawless redhead behind Yukari held a restrained stance. "I apologize, but I need to help out at the inn today."

"You getting ready to take over the family business?" I asked, partly because I was curious and partly because I had needed an excuse to look at her.

She quickly answered, "Not exactly. I'm just helping out."

"Alright," I voiced, having my eyes go through the rigorous training of _not_ looking at her finer points, "More free food for us, then!"

Junpei kept our destination a secret as we followed him through the town. Yukari and I had our hopes up until reached Junes.

"Wait, wait, you took us here? They don't have _real_ grilled steak here," Yukari complained in a very childlike manner. Of course, I wasn't exactly one to talk when it came to maturity.

"Well, once you two started taking turns at my wallet, I needed a change of plans," he lazily explained, serving up a tray full of steak that was cheaper than what Yukari had expected.

"Man, that's no reason to take us to _your_ place," I added to Yukari's complaint.

Souji raised an eyebrow. "Your place?"

It took a second, but Junpei felt the need to give a proper explanation. "My dad was assigned to manage this store. That's how I ended up moving here from the city."

"Unfortunately," I took my turn to explain, "The arrival of Junes has damaged the business of Inaba's shopping district, which is primarily made up of privately owned stores."

"Yeah, my family gets a lot of crap for it," Junpei explained, rubbing the back of his neck, "My mom's had a pretty tough run with some of the other women."

"Sounds rough," Souji responded in a sympathetic look.

Something caught the corner of Junpei's eye and he quickly ditched our table. We looked over, spotting that he was talking to a long-haired blondie in a Junes uniform.

"That Junpei's girlfriend?" Souji asked in legitimate curiousity.

"He wishes," answered Yukari, "That's Saki Konishi. Her family owns a liquor store here. Seems she's working here part-time, though."

I added, "I still don't get him. He's so infatuated with Saki, but her younger sister's where it's at."

"You mean Chidori? She might be cute, but she's so... antisocial," Yukari answered.

I took a closer look at the blondie. She appeared stressed. Something serious could have happened, but then again, women are always stressed out about _something_. While Junpei was talking to her, she uttered, "Why'd I leave school early yesterday..?"

_Wait,_ I thought, _if she left early yesterday, she could have seen the body. Anybody would be scarred after that._

She and Junpei approached the group, and Souji caught the girl's attention. "Are you that transfer student?" Souji nodded. "If you were hanging out with Jun-chan, I'm guess you've heard about me already." I failed to hold in a laugh when I heard her nickname for Junpei. That always brightened up my day.

"I don't see Jun-chan hanging out with other guys much, except for Ketsui over here." She glanced over at Junpei before adding, "He's a good guy, but he can get pretty nosy sometimes. You gotta tell it right to his face when he starts to annoy you." Junpei lowered his hat in visible shame.

"Nah," Souji answered, "Junpei's a great guy."

"Ahah, I know – I'm just kidding," Saki replied. "Anyway, I've got to get back to work. Nice seeing you all."

Once she was gone and Junpei was seated at the table again. I raised a question, "How do you put up with that, man?"

He just sighed in both disappointment and annoyance.

Yukari, being the opportunist she secretly was, decided to poke at him. "Oh, you don't want her treating you like a brother, huh? The daughter of a local liquor store and the scion of the invading chain – The flame of forbidden love!" Nice movie tagline, there. Really.

"I-it's not like that at all!"

"Oh, reaaally?" Yukari started, "Well, I know just the thing to cheer up that lovesick heart of yours." That got me interested, but it was likely to just be more the superstitious garbage that Inaba seemed to develop on a regular basis. "You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?" _Yup, there it is._

While I wasn't too interested, the looks on Junpei and Souji's faces spoke differently for them. "Nah, I never heard of that," Junpei answered.

"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night," Yukari explained, "While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen. They say that person's your soul mate."

Being the skeptic that I am, I decided to laugh in her face. "Oh, okay. Sure. Make sure you watch the haunted video tape first, or else the ghost girl won't come out of the TV and murder you!"

"This whole thing sounds very promising," Souji sarcastically stated.

Yukari looked insulted. Her pride caused her to say, "The weather report said it would rain tonight, so let's all try it out! Then you'll see!"

"Okay," Junpei added, "but I'm still trying to remember the last time I heard something this stupid."

"Hey, you know that 'incident' yesterday?" Souji changed the subject, "You think it was murder?"

"Obviously," Junpei and I replied in unison.

"I think the fact that this place has a murderer lurking around in it is more interesting than this Midnight Channel stuff." _Agreed._

"Whatever – you guys better try it out tonight!" Yukari eagerly urged.

When I got home, the clouds not far away confirmed that it would rain that night.

As usual, Ken was watching the news, sipping coffee. I could never tell if he just wanted to prove that a ten-year-old could act like a grown man, or if he really was into all of this. On the TV, they were talking about the Yamano murder case once again. "We now bring you an exclusive interview with the local student who found Ms. Yamano's body." Well, this was interesting. The closest school to the crime scene _was_ Yasogami High, after all. The TV displayed the blurred face of a blonde girl in a black uniform.

"What went through your mind when you saw it? Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?" The reporter was asking questions faster than the girl could process them.

The girl uttered a nervous "Uh-umm." Her voice was masked over to keep her anonymous. Judging from her hair, the uniform, and the fact that I heard her muttering something about leaving school early, it was safe to say that this woman was Saki Konishi.

Before the previous questions were answered, the reporter continued with "Don't you think it's scary that someone was killed on a foggy day?" Of course she found it scary, but I was subconsciously wondering how the fog was related. "Oh, err – So did you see anyone suspicious around here? We heard that you found it when you left school early. Did you have some personal business to take care of?"

That struck a nerve. I hated it when strangers tried to budge into what doesn't concern them. "Is this guy serious?" I asked, idly cracking my knuckles.

Ken scoffed. "Yeah, this guy's not doing a very good job."

Since the interview apparently obtained no answers from Saki, they began talking about how our tax money is going toward the police force which hasn't determined the cause of death yet. I sighed in disgust and headed up to my room.

Some time later, the clock was closing in on midnight, so I shut the lights off in my room and sat in front of the small TV, which was seldom used for anything but video games.

Staring at my reflection, I didn't notice how into it I was until I saw that my eyes were practically looking right through each other. The clock struck midnight and...

Nothing.

I scoffed in a mix of both satisfaction and disappointment. "I knew this couldn't have been..." My words drifted off as the black screen seemingly turned itself on.

It appeared to be displaying regular white noise, until the shape of a human appeared. It was definitely female, but the image was too fuzzy to give many details other than the fact that the girl had long hair and a skirt. The dark gray of her clothing suggested that she was a student at Yasogami High. Seconds later, she vanished and the screen returned to normal.

_What the hell did I just see? _

As I attempted to sleep, my mind was still trying to logically explain what had just happened. _How could Yukari have been right? There's no such thing as a soul mate. Only fools believe in destiny._


	3. Jumping Channels

__Things began to become difficult to comprehend.__

__Would we really dare to enter a world we knew nothing about?__

****Chapter 3: Jumping Channels****

Waking up, the events of last night immediately haunted my thoughts. __What did I see? What was that?__Hopefully my friends had seen something as well, or else I might have seemed like a schizophrenic when I was to explain it to them. The calendar on the wall told me that it was April 14th – or what I would call "The Day The TV Had Something Interesting On at Midnight."

I left the house quickly – being traumatized and all, I really didn't feel like talking to anyone except for my friends at school. _Pipipipi, _rang the phone in my pocket. I whipped it out, finding that Yumi Ozawa had texted me. It read "I'm right behind you."

My mouth uttered, "What?" before I made a full circle scan of my surroundings. My eyes stopped at the smiling face of the girl I had ignored for the last two days.

"Morning!" she exclaimed, "Have you been avoiding me? I still haven't seen you around."

"No, I've just been... busy."

"_Ohhh, _I get it," she replied, "You have a new girlfriend, huh?"

I scoffed. "No, no, it's not that at all. If I started dating someone new, you'd probably hear about it in school anyway."

"Hmmm, well, what is it with you and girls, anyway? You have no problem talking to them, but don't even have a girl!"

I hated this subject. Apparently being socially capable meant that I couldn't possibly be single.

"Well, I just haven't met anyone interesting yet. Nothing wrong with being picky, y'know?"

She pouted, "What, I'm not interesting?" There it was.

Well, actually, she was sort of interesting. Just not in a way that I was attracted to. Yumi was an eccentric Drama Club member, and a real talented one at that.

I sighed, "You know that if I dated you, I'd be wasting both our time." Her appearance wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad. She kept her black hair prim, straight, and short enough to just hardly fall beside her neck. The way she did her hair made her forehead completely visible, which was placed above a pair of narrow eyes and a small mouth.

She gave one of those pseudo-whimpers that girls do – I don't believe they have a name. "Why's that?"

"'Cause neither of us would be interested."

"Well, what if I _am_ interested?" she asked, before one of her hands landed on my arm. My eyes widened.

__ Shit.__

I decided the safest way to do this would be to call it out as a joke. "Don't think I forgot about your acting skills!" I laughed, "I'm not falling for that!"

Yumi lowered her head and her eyes hit the floor. "I'm not acting," she said, "I want to go out with you."

I sighed. "I just told you, no. Trust me, I'm doing you a favour."

Her eyes shot up. "You know what I think?" she pointed a finger at me, "I think you're still hurt over Iwasaki-san!"

Rio Iwasaki. I was over Rio. Rio was over me. No hard feelings between us, nothing like that. "That ended a long time ago, of course I'm over it."

"Then, prove it. Go out with me."

There was way too much on my mind for me to continue haggling with the girl. I just wanted to find out if any of my friends had seen what I saw on the Midnight Channel. So, I just decided to get it out of the way. "Okay, okay" I lazily replied, "Sometime later, though. I'm busy today."

Yumi smiled. "Great!" she exclaimed before giving me a quick hug and running toward the school up ahead. I sighed. __I bet she's off to tell all her little girlfriends, now.__

Thanks to that little encounter, I was late for class. Ms. Sofue, our eccentric history teacher who was in love with Egypt, was at the front of the class. As I made my way to my seat, I heard Yukari say, "Saki-senpai's supposedly the one who discovered the body."

Junpei replied, "That's probably why she looked so down yesterday. I don't think she's at school today, either."

After our lesson had ended, I noticed Mitsuru leave the classroom immediately. It bugged me a little, but I was sure it wasn't anything important. I decided to bring up the oddities that have been bugging me all day. "Did you guys see anything on the TV?"

"Yeah," answered an intrigued Yukari, "The image was too fuzzy to make out many details, but I'm pretty sure I saw a girl on it. But my soul mate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean?" I cracked up a little at that last part. "Looked like she had long hair and was wearing our uniform."

Junpei snapped into alertness. "Hey, I think that's the same person I saw!"

"Yeah, me too" I added. "Definitely meeting those details."

"The three of us saw the same person? Does that mean we all have the same soul mate?" Yukari wondered.

Souji looked like he had something different to add. "I saw that same person, too. But there was more." We all leaned forward in interest. "When midnight struck, some strange voices started echoing in my head. They were making my head hurt, so I fell forward into my TV. When I looked up, I saw that my arm was stuck inside the TV." __What?__"I was curious, so I tried to go inside of it, but my head got stuck inside. All I saw inside was... fog. After that, I fell out of it and didn't touch it for the rest of the night."

"So, the four of us all saw the same person. Sounds like we're seeing something that _isn't _a soul mate, but someone else. But aside from the ominous voices, what was that about going inside your TV?" I asked in disbelief.

"Souji, man!" exclaimed Junpei, "You know how to tell a story!"

Yukari laughed. "I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic." Yukari stopped to remember something, and said "Speaking of which, my parents have been thinking about buying a new TV."

"Why don't you check out Junes then?" Junpei suggested, "The electronics department hardly ever has a customer." He turned his attention to Souji. "We've got some big models in stock. I bet we could find one that you're able to fit into!"

When we entered the electronics section of the giant store, Souji was scoping out every corner of the area. "Why are we the only ones here?" he asked.

"I guess not that many people in Inaba are gonna be spending big money at this place," I attempted to explain, "So there's not even any workers just idling around here."

The two of us looked up ahead, where Junpei and Yukari were checking out a large TV. Junpei raised his hand against it. "Can't get in. Figures."

"So, we've successfully deduced that Souji is just a really good storyteller!" Yukari replied. I took a look at Souji. He looked serious about what he said.

"Well, these flat-screens are so thin, you'd probably just punch right through it," I added.

Junpei and Yukari walked down the line, looking at other models, while I stayed back with Souji. "You weren't joking, were you?" I asked while nonchalantly picking off a speck of lint that made its way onto my clothing, tainting the bright yellow of my shirt.

"No, not at all," he responded, "But I'm afraid to try it again."

"Do it," I prompted, "You know you're gonna be curious about this for the rest of your life."

He took in a deep breath and stared at the gigantic screen in front of him. It was definitely large enough for at least two of us to fit inside of.

Souji raised a hand, and moved it toward the screen. Milliseconds later, his hand was inside of it. White circles spawned around his hand and rippled outward, like he was touching water.

"Wh-what the hell?" Junpei yelled in fear, flinching at the sight.

"How did you..?" Yukari partially asked, as she and Junpei ran up to us.

Souji blinked, and then stuck his head inside of the TV. "There's space in here," he told us.

Being curious as ever, I put one hand on Souji's back and the other into the TV. "Ahahahah!" I laughed, "This is some crazy stuff, man!"

"Shit, shit, customers are heading this way!" exclaimed a confused Junpei.

Junpei began to flail in a panic. Trying to calm him down, I grabbed his arm. He accidentally ended up pushing Yukari into me, and soon Souji fell completely into the screen, with me dragging the other two in with us.

Soon, my vision was shrouded in light and all I could hear were the screams made by the four of us as we fell.


	4. Another World

__Now, in the realm of unknown forces, our helpless group of four searched for an escape. Or was it for comfort?__****

**Chapter 4: Another World**

I finally hit the floor, hearing the sounds of my friends doing the same. My tail bone ached while I picked myself up from the ground, hearing Junpei say something about landing on his wallet. I stood up to see... yellow. I turned around to see my friends finding their footing as well.

"What the..?" I asked, trying to comprehend our surroundings, "We're not dead, are we?"

"Don't think so," Souji responded. He took a look at everyone, "Are you guys okay?"

Junpei groaned while standing up, "Ugh, I think my butt's cracked now."

Yukari, already on her feet, replied with an unnecessary "Of course it is!"

I took a minute to observe the area. The air seemed to be engulfed in a yellowy mist. There were several metal pillars that held wires and studio equipment such as cameras and spotlights. "Is this some sort of... studio?" I asked, perplexed. The floor had a strange square-like pattern of red and black. On the ground were white outlines of human bodies, much like those chalk markings that police make on scenes of death.

"Heh, maybe all the televisions in the world are actually portals to where they make the shows!" Junpei joked, hoping to lighten the mood. It didn't really work. I was scared as hell.

"What's all this fog? Or is it smoke?" Souji brought up a good point.

"Screw it, let's just look around for an exit," I suggested, uncomfortable and wanting out of this strange place. I pointed toward a narrow walkway that led out of the plaza-like area we stood on. Souji took the lead and we followed.

The four of us moved closely and cautiously. After about ten minutes of walking through nothing but narrow walkways, Junpei brought up a hint of pessimism. "What is this? How the hell are we supposed to get outta here?"

Souji, showing some of his apparently dormant leadership skills, told Junpei to "Calm down, or else it'll just take longer for us to find our way out." After a few minutes of following the same walkway, we came across a building which had a door on it. Well, if you could call it that. It was more of a portal. A vertically-superior rectangle with red and black swirls within it.

"That thing looks... pleasant," I stated in fear. "We got no choice but to go in, huh?"

Yukari pointed at the portal door thing. "You want me to go in there? No way."

I wiped the nervous sweat from my forehead. "Fine, I'll go in first, and I'll tell you if it's safe."

I moved one arm into the portal, feeling that the other side had space in it. I figured it was fine, so I stepped through, finding a completely different room. I came back through the portal, informing the entourage before we all entered together.

The room was definitely not making us any more comfortable than the last area did. It was still foggy as ever, and it had dark walls that was partially painted with what seemed like dried blood. The walls were covered with posters. Dozens of the very same poster all over the wall, all with some woman on it.

"It's a dead end," voiced Yukari, "There's no exit!"

Souji was observing the room. "Don't say that, Takeba-san."

"Check out these posters," Yukari said, seemingly ignoring whatever Souji had said, "Their faces are all cut out." She was right. The face had been torn out in all of the posters. "Someone must really hate this person."

"Hey, I think I recognize that poster," Junpei noted. "Hard to say since the faces are gone."

I found a chair in the middle of the room and took a seat on it. "Feels good to get a break," I commented. The others turned toward me, but were immediately distracted by something directly above me. "What's that?" I asked.

"Looks like a scarf," Souji explained. I stood up and looked at the red object hanging from the ceiling. "It's tied in a noose."

"With the noose up there, and this chair under it," Junpei noted, "I don't think I wanna stick around here much longer."

My skin crawled at the realization. "Yeah, let's head back." On our way out of the portal, I saw a couple of small iron pipes lying around beside a wall. I picked one up, saying "This makes me feel a little bit safer." Souji and Junpei picked up the other two.

While we were walking, my body felt drained. "Is anyone else... really, _really_ tired?" I asked, catching my breath.

Souji stopped in front of me. "Now that you mention it, I have been feeling kind of heavy."

In the middle of the small walkway stood a round object. "What the..?" Junpei asked as it was still covered by the fog. It stepped forward, revealing a... _a bear?_

"Whoa, whoa, what are you?" I asked in hostility, holding up the makeshift weapon in my hands. "You stay back!" Behind my threats, I thought the creature was actually cute. Its body was about the size of a mascot costume. On its hear were two small, perfectly circular ears. On the very top of the thing's head was a little pointed spot of hair. Underneath its giant, black, oval-shaped eyes was what looked like a zipper. Past the zipper was some sort of red jumpsuit that had a white strip down the centre with red circles within it. The creature had tiny legs and feet that suggested a lack of balance.

"What in the world?" asked Yukari, who had somehow been quiet during the last few minutes. "A monkey, a bear..?"

The monkey-bear-mascot thing raised a hand, causing me to take a step back. "T-that's what I wanna know," came a gentle, high-pitched voice. "Who are you guys?"

Junpei stepped toward the creature, "Hey, stay back!" he halfheartedly threatened.

The round creature lowered its head and huddled its paw-like hands. "Don't yell at me like that," it whimpered, shivering in place.

Souji placed a hand on Junpei's shoulder, signalling him to step back. Souji lowered his head and matched head-height with the creature, asking, "Can you tell us what this place is?"

The bear raised its head again, informing us that "This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name. It's where I live."

I scoffed. "You live here? Even with all of this fog?"

"If I were you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side," the mysterious bear explained. _So, he knows that our world exists, huh? _"Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."

"Throwing people in?" Junpei asked, "Whaddya mean by that?"

The bear's face, reminiscent of a cartoon character, turned into a frown as he stomped the ground with his small feet, emitting the noise of a squeaky toy. "I don't know who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go do things like that!"

Yukari audibly gritted her teeth. "Hey, what's your problem?" The bear flinched in fear. "Who gave _you_ the right to yell at us like that?" It had been a while since I'd seen her this frustrated. Her hand clenched into a fist. "What are you? Where are we? I wanna know what's going on, here!"

The mascot fled behind Souji and Junpei, sticking only its head out toward Yukari. "I already told you... You should hurry back."

I turned toward the creature. "So you're saying you want us get out of this place. Well, so do we. We just don't know how to, dammit!"

The bear's voice growled in pre-pubescent frustration. "Urrrrgh! That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Well, we don't know where the goddamned exit... Wait, what?"

I looked back at the creature as it walked away from behind Souji. "Just follow me to the entrance, and I can let you out."

The four of us sighed in relief. "Glad to hear it," said Souji. "Do you have a name?"

The bear turned to face our group. He said, "Teddie." _Well, that's easy enough._

"Would be easier to get there if we could see three feet in front of us," Junpei commented, wiping his eyes.

"Oh," Teddie exclaimed, "Give me a second." He turned away from us, fiddling with his hands. When he turned around, his paws held four pairs of thin-framed glasses in various colours.

Souji stepped up first, picking up a grey pair. Once he was wearing them his eyes widened.. "Wow," his voice showed amazement, "Thanks, Teddie."

I wondered what was so great about the glasses, so I grabbed the yellow pair. Junpei took the blue pair, and Yukari got the remaining pink-framed glasses. As my eyes focused through the lenses, I saw through most of the fog. The world was still hazy, appearing as if its fog was endless, but I could actually see fifteen feet ahead of myself. "This is awesome," I exclaimed.

"You're welcome," voiced Teddie, who had spun in place.

Further down the catwalk was a dark silhouette, still in the fog. The glare of its glowing eyes stared me into place as it walked toward us.

The excited voices of my friends died down as they had apparently seen what I was seeing. The silhouette came from the fog into plain view, revealing... **me.**


	5. Twisted Mirror

**[A/N Sorry for the long-ass delay. Just been busy with work and other stuff, such as the release of _Catherine_. Also, it was pretty difficult to decide exactly how I should write this chapter. There's just a lot going on and I didn't want to mess things up, so I revised this entire chapter a number of times.]**

****[October 05, 2011 Update: Made a lot of changes to the Shadow Ketsui conversation, did some spelling/grammar fixes, and changed some aspects of the battle.]****

__Here I was, standing in front of an apparition of myself.__

__Facing yourself is never as easy as it sounds.__

__I got to learn that the hard way.__

**Chapter 5: Twisted Mirror**

He stood at five feet, six inches. Short, dark-brown hair fell just above his ears. His black Yasogami High jacket fell open, failing to conceal a bright yellow dress shirt that was lazily buttoned and missing a tie. His size ten loafers tapped against the hard ground in a familiar rhythm that occasionally entered his mind when he was uncomfortable with the lack of sound. I knew this because _he _knew this.

He raised his right arm to scratch at an itch that made itself present at the right side of his neck. That's when I noticed his eyes. His golden, inhumanly bright eyes. They stared down mine as I tightened my grip on the unreliable weapon in my hands.

"Hey guys," said my twin, standing casually before our group.

"What... what is...?" I heard a voice from behind.

I choked on the air in disturbance before readjusting my glasses. "What are you?" I asked, raising my guard.

"If I answered that, it'd ruin all the fun!," replied my clone. It took a step forward, its body language making it a spitting image of myself.

Behind me, footsteps were heard as my friends came to my side. "Stay behind me, everyone!" I ordered, sticking my hand out toward them.

"What are you trying to protect them from?" spoke the twin, a wide grin on his face. He let out a small, unsettling laugh.

"From you," I replied, "Whatever you are."

"Well in that case," the copy casually replied, "You might want to take a look at yourself."

I turned around to Teddie, "What the hell is that thing?" I asked.

"That thing is your Shadow," answered the bear. "It came from you."

I was confused. _My Shadow? _"Wait, what..?"

"This is all too much," breathed a worried Yukari, "I can't take this anymore, I just wanna go home!"

I planted a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry – we're gonna kick the crap out of this thing, and we're gonna get out of here!"

"Oh yes, let's kick the crap out of this thing, Yukari-chan!" mocked the Shadow. "You're such a little cutie, I wouldn't think twice about comforting you." _What, what is he..?_ I clenched my fist. "However, my words are all meaningless. No matter what I say, I would never actually take action and change things. Yet, words are all I've really been good with, isn't that right?"

"Shut-up!" I snapped, "How do you...? Who _are_ you? What is going on?"

"Of course, I wouldn't have a plan for now, would I?" the clone accused, "I just want to reassure everyone of my confidence. After all, that false pride is really all I have to show for my lack of skills."

I turned to my friends. "Don't listen to a damn thing this guy's saying!"

"Yes, reassure them of your identity again, Ketsui. Tell me, what do you really think you can do at this point? Or better yet, _I'll _do it. I've always felt useless. I'm living in a life of luxury because of my parents' successful careers. Unfortunately, I doubt I can do the same. After all, how can someone so carefree ever be in a responsible position? If you ask me, I'm just too damn stubborn to blend with a world that isn't like mine."

I hung my head. "...Stop it, dammit."

"Is this thing telling the truth?" asked Junpei. "I mean - are you okay, man?"

"I'm fine," I lied, "This thing's full of shit!"

Teddie walked up to me. "This is _your_ Shadow," he began to explain, "You have to accept it, or else it'll go berserk!"

"This thing is nothing like me," I told the bear, "If this thing gets angry, I'll just punch it so hard, it'll lose its attitude!"

Teddie growled in frustration, "It's not that simple!"

I ignored him. "Just stay behind me, everyone!", I commanded.

"Bullshit," the Shadow chuckled. "You know that Souji and Junpei over there would be able to handle themselves just as well as you do. You expect that the teddy bear has some type of mystical power that would protect him. No, it's Yukari that you're worried about."

"How do you know our names?" asked a shocked Souji.

"Don't change the subject," my Shadow snapped, "We couldn't lose Yukari now, could we?"

"The hell are you getting at?" I angrily asked, raising my armed hand.

"After all, she's your only reason that we're connected to that bombshell Mitsuru, right?"

"What's he talking about?" asked Yukari, "You don't think of Mitsuru that way... Right?"

"Or so you think," answered my twin, "Ketsui over here's just pissed off that Mitsuru's kept him in the friend zone all this time."

"What..?" trailed the feminine voice behind me.

"Oh, and _you? _You mean a lot to us, Yukari. Not like _that_, though. You're like a good friend with the extra feature of providing some eye candy. Nothing to hide anymore – I'm a giant pervert."

"No way," Yukari breathed, quietly. "That's not... that's not true, is it?"

"What's this 'us' bullshit, you monster?", I shouted, ignoring the girl's question, "You're not a part of me. You're _not!_"

"Why do I like that Mitsuru girl, anyway?" the freak mockingly asked. He already knew the answer. "Is it her body? Her voice? Her general elegance? The fact that she's our complete opposite? Like me, her family's provided her with a peaceful life. However, where our opportunities are open, hers are practically decided for her. I slack off and take life easily, while she works toward a better future. I'm a cynic clown, while she approaches every situation with class. We're completely different. I just want to step beyond that, and find something in common between the two of us." It was all true. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't do... _anything_.

"Will you be quiet?" I stepped up to the clone. "Who are you? **WHO ARE YOU?**"

The Shadow laughed, making a large grin in his face. "I... am _you_."

"What the hell do I have to do to get rid of you!"

"You have to _**accept**_ me," said the Shadow. "Accept that you can't bond with something that isn't like you." _No_. "Accept that you've been useless your entire life." _Stop!_ "Accept that the woman you've fallen for will never want anything to do with you."

The air felt heavier than ever before.

"**YOU'RE NOT ME!**"

For a moment, the world ceased turning. The wind disappeared. The arms on my watch stopped ticking.

"You're right, I'm not you," answered the Shadow. "I am _me_ now. I don't need you around anymore!" The Shadow was surrounded by a ray of light as it morphed before my eyes.

I collapsed, releasing my grip on the pipe in my hand. I heard it hitting the floor as someone came to my aid.

When my dizziness began to fade, my eyes focused. First, all I saw was the yellow glow of the sky above. Soon, a face came into view. It was Yukari. She was trying to see if I was okay, but my shame wouldn't allow me to look her in the eyes. I looked away as I picked myself up from the floor, trying to comprehend what was happening.

In front of me, Souji and Junpei held their weapons against a strange being. What was once a narrow walkway had transformed into a wide, arena-like floor. In the centre was our opponent. A golden throne adorned with various jewels peaked at an absurd height. Seated inside of this shining object was a thin silhouette-like man that must have been about nine feet tall. His entire body was pitch black. Atop his head was a goblet which had dark fumes emitting from it. Several other cups laid toppled around his throne. Behind this man and his throne was a semi-circle of a mirrors that reflected his image onto him. He gestured toward our party with the giant rapier in his left hand. His right hand, however, was chained to the throne.

"What is this!" Junpei asked in frightened confusion. Souji stood by him, wordlessly. He had been quiet for a long time.

Teddie stepped up to explain. "This is what happens to peoples' Shadows when they get angry. The Shadow represents the side of a person that they refuse to accept."

"In other words..." I looked into the hollow eyes of the Shadow. "This monster is the embodiment of my suppressed emotions?"

Junpei ran up to the Shadow, hitting its leg with his pipe. It didn't even flinch.

"Only those who have accepted themselves have the power to fight a Shadow," Teddie explained.

"Great," I responded, "This keeps getting better and better."

The creature stood from its seat, towering over us. "I am a Shadow, the true self." Its booming voice imitated mine, with an angry tone. "With those that do not belong with me, I refuse to prosper...!"

The Shadow raised its sword. I turned to see Yukari's eyes widen. She gave an order. "Everybody, **RUN**!"

We all turned and ran as the ground shook. Without looking back, I sprinted in fear until a wall of spikes materialized in my path. I stopped and turned around, seeing that there was no escape. The tall figure was still visible. It raised its blade, creating a force that pulled us back toward its throne. "You can't run away!"

As I landed right in front of the creature, I got a better look at it. Within its empty eyes were purple swirls, as if the creature couldn't perceive its surroundings. The shape of its frowning mouth showed its unhappiness. It was aware that its right hand was chained down, but it persistently pulled away, to no avail. On the left side of its chest was a heart-shaped mirror that had been cracked. Undeniably, this monster was my creation.

I felt like there was no hope in defeating this towering beast. "I... I accept you!" I admitted with a shaky voice, "I accept everything you said!"

The Shadow looked down upon me. "You're a terrible liar." It sensed my doubt. I fled toward my friends, as I spotted my Shadow beginning to move its rapier.

It stuck its sword to the sky, summoning two strange dark creatures to aid him. They were spheres with blue masks on one side, and a large mouth with a menacing tongue on the other side.

"What are those?" I asked in fear.

"Those are also Shadows," Teddie answered, "We're in danger!"

Soon, Souji walked passed me, facing the pair of creatures. He looked into the palm of his hand, which had contained what looked like a blue card.

He looked up at our opponents, breathing out one word. "Per...so...**NA!**"

I felt the world shake as I saw Souji's hand transform into a fist, blue flames engulfing his immediate surroundings. I stared up in amazement as a humanoid creature materialized above Souji's head. It was a tall man seemingly made of metal. It wore a wide black coat with red interiors that extended onto its legs. Its face was hidden by a heroic metal helmet, with golden glaring eyes. The being's head had tails on the back of it that looked like katanas. Its right hand held a large, bandaged halberd with a straight blade which was smooth on one side and serrated on the other. Seconds later, the figure vanished.

"What was... that?" Junpei exclaimed, pointing at the spot where the man had appeared.

"It was Sensei's Persona," answered Teddie. "I knew he was special."

Souji stood in front of the Shadows, ready to face them.

Teddie ran to his side and began explaining things as the two round Shadows idled in front of him. "Stay calm and listen. Most shadows have weaknesses. I can tell that these two definitely have a weakness. If you can find this weakness and exploit it, this battle will be a lot easier. We'll need you to be careful – you're the only one who will stand a chance!" Souji wordlessly nodded, as if he was completely comfortable with fighting these freaks.

Yukari popped out from behind Junpei and I. "Wait, so Souji's the only one who can fight them?"

Teddie quickly spun his body around. "Yes – he's the only one with a Persona. The four of us should do our best to stay out of harm's way!"

Souji stared down the creature on his left, saying "Izanagi!", a word that no one else knew the meaning of. He crushed something in his palm, summoning the same humanoid being as before, which raised its weapon, sending thunder from the sky, striking down the creature.

Teddie jumped with glee. "That's it! That Shadow is weak against electricity!" Souji stepped up to the fallen creature and smashed it with the pipe in his hands, causing it to explode into a black, gooey substance.

"Just one more!" called Junpei, "Kick its ass, Souji!"

"There are a lot of different Shadows," explained the bear, "This one's called a _Hablerie. _It's not very strong, and I know it has a weakness!"

"Alright," I added, "Then kick the Hablerie's ass!"

The Hablerie attempted to lick Souji with a tongue that was half the size of a human, but it missed and landed on the ground. Souji again crushed an object in his hand, which looked like a card, summoning what was apparently called Izanagi. Izanagi ran its blade through the Hablerie's mouth, destroying it.

"Great job, Sensei. I am one impressed bear!" exclaimed Teddie, "I can't believe you were hiding such an amazing power!" He took in a breath, apparently realizing something. "Are _you_ the one who's able to bring people into this world?"

"Hey, bear!" Yukari called, "Need I remind you that there's a giant monster waiting to kill us?"

Souji faced my Shadow, which hadn't moved from its seat. "I can take him."

The Shadow lunged its rapier at Souji, who just barely dodged it with a roll. "You think you're a match for me?" the Shadow's twisted voice laughed, "_Idiot!"_

"This thing's gonna be tough," informed Teddie, "If the Shadow attacks with something that your Persona's weak against, don't be afraid to guard in preparation! You'll still get hurt, but you'll be safer than if you had taken the hit directly!"

Souji nodded before summoning Izanagi, which clashed blades with my Shadow.

"To hell with you!" The Shadow ordered as it spun its blade in a circular motion, creating a strong gust of wind that knocked Souji into the air.

"Sensei, no!" Teddie worriedly called as he watched the fighter land onto the ground.

Junpei helped Souji up to his feet as I stared down the abomination. "That... hurt," Souji groaned.

"It seems Sensei's Persona is weak against wind," reported Teddie, who was standing cautiously away from the Shadow.

_He can't keep this up,_ I thought, _there's no way he'll make it if I don't do something!_

I looked back at my Shadow, as it breathed hauntingly. There was nothing I could do to fight it. I was weak. _I am weak. _

"I created this thing," I breathed, "That means I can destroy it just as easily, right?" The Shadow laughed at my question. I turned to my friends. "Right?"

**"WRONG!"** the Shadow bellowed, striking my ground with its gigantic blade. I jumped back in shock, wondering what I had to do to get rid of this monster.

The creature existed only because of me. Souji would die by my hands. All of us would. All because I couldn't accept the feelings that were fighting within me. _You cannot win._

"You're a horrible goddamn friend, Ketsui," I thought out loud, "What the hell did you ever do to help anyone?"

"Wh...what?" stuttered Yukari, "What are you...?"

"You've had _everything_ set up for you and you're _still_ not satisfied!" I screamed, "You're nothing but a worthless tyrant!"

Junpei grabbed my shoulder. "What's going on with you? Snap out of it, man!"

"You have to let it out," I whispered, feeling liquid on my cheeks, "But you're too much of a coward to do it."

"Souji!" I called, "Only I can take this thing down!"

"How do you plan to do that?" Junpei asked in disbelief.

I'd answer his question with an action.

I walked toward the towering abomination, looking it straight in the eyes. "I understand now. You're the part of me that I've suppressed. That I couldn't accept."

The Shadow lowered its head, clearly listening.

"I get it. I have to learn to live with my own flaws. I have been expecting my life to fit me all the time. I have been sick of pretending to be better than I am, when I've really never done anything in my life." It hurt to admit it. I couldn't stand the thought of the people behind me witnessing it all. I turned and looked at the expression on Yukari's face. "I know that I've been taking my friends for granted," I sighed, and turned back to my Shadow. "And it's true that I've been pissed off about the fact that Mitsuru would never think of me as more than a friend." My head was hung low.

My teeth clenched. My eyes darted back into those of the Shadow. "But that's nothing for me to be ashamed of anymore!"

Everyone stood silent for the moment. The Shadow began to laugh in a menacing, contorted form of my voice. "Good," he said, "Now, allow me to test your resolution!"

The world froze. My mind was blurry, eventually making out some type of mental image. I saw a card. In one corner, a cup with flowing liquids. In another, a triad of triangles. In the next, a silhouette of some sort of bird. In the last, a rectangle with several internal shapes. These shapes were all separated by lines, with different colours behind them. However, where the cracks between each shape appeared, they met in a circle at the centre. On the bottom of the blue card, **XIV **was written. The word **Temperance** made itself apparent in my mind.

When I came to my senses, this card was sitting in the palm of my right hand. In my left, the unreliable weapon made of iron remained in its place. I looked up at my Shadow, which was beckoning me with its oversized blade.

I swung my right hand out, tossing the card into the air before me. It floated a foot away from me, spinning in the air. That's when I felt the words, just as Souji said them. "**PER! SO! NA!**" I struck the card with the pipe in my hand as I heard the sound of glass shattering within my mind.

Vision entering deep within my mind once again, I witnessed the creation of a new being. The shimmering image of a man made of metal was created. Within narrow slots that were his eyes shone bright yellow lights. Slowly, he grew streaming white hair that would flow passed his back. He floated in a cross-legged position, and a robe materialized onto him. It was dark purple, with intricate oriental patterns sewn in gold. Small iron spikes protruded from the shoulders of the robe. Soon, a oval-shaped mirror formed onto the man's chest with some sort of unnatural light emitting from it. He raised his left hand and a weapon began to appear. It was a large golden pole with two curved blades on one end. Fiery shapes began to appear inside of the blades. The double-edged halberd looked like a yin-yang symbol as one blade was black with white engravings, while the other blade was white with black engravings. This was my creation. It was the manifestation of my personality. My Persona. It was **Shui-Jing.**

The area around my returned to my eyes, and I found that the being I had just created was right above me. My Shadow smirked as it inspected my creation. "Come, then. Fight me, Ketsui!"

I nodded with a grin. **"Alright, time to die!"**


	6. Testing Myself

_**[October 05, 2011 Update: Made some adjustments to the dialogue and the battle. Also made it so that Shui-Jing just resisted wind instead of absorb it.]**_

__How well can you understand yourself if you've never fought an enormous, monstrous entity?__

__Did I mention that this enormous, monstrous entity was a manifestation of your suppressed emotions?__

__Yeah, this wasn't any ordinary day.__

**Chapter 6: Testing Myself**

I took a second to breathe – to allow everyone to absorb and comprehend the stand-off that we were in. Above me was the apparition of my newly-acquired Persona, Shui-Jing. Not far behind me was Souji, regaining his strength from the attack he had withstood. Behind us were our shocked friends, and a bear that knew more about our powers than we did.

Our opponent stood strong, towering above us, constantly threatening us with a hollow glare.

"Ketsui created his Persona!" Teddie excitedly announced, "This is _bear_-y good for us!"

"Hell yeah I did," I replied as Shui-Jing's image vanished, "Souji, help me out!"

The grey-haired boy answered wordlessly, running to my side with his weapon at the ready.

Junpei raised a fist. "Beat him up, guys!" cheered his enthusiastic voice.

"Let's see what this thing can do!" I exclaimed as I summoned the Temperance card in my hand. "Persona!" Shui-Jing appeared, stabbing the ground with his shining weapon. As the halberd's blades parted the floor, a tornado burst from underneath the Shadow, effectively uppercutting his head. Somehow in my mind, I named that attack "Garu".

Souji took this as his queue, summoning Izanagi to throw down more damage. "Zio!" he called as a bolt of lightning fell down from the sky.

The crackling line of electricity came down upon the Shadow. Or at least we thought it would. My eyes widened as the Shadow's blade had captured the lightning, leaving him unharmed. He smirked, before his booming voice screamed "I will _destroy_ you!" His rapier was swung downward, throwing Izanagi's power toward me. I froze in place before the electricity surged through my body. Seconds later, I landed on the ground, drained. All I heard was the Shadow's menacing laughter.

My fuzzy mind struggled to comprehend my surroundings as I felt Souji's footsteps reach the spot where I had been standing.

My vision focused and I saw my Shadow spinning his blade once again. "It's all over for you!" taunted the monster. This time, I noticed something different. As the Shadow gathered its power, its eyes began to glow with a shining golden energy. At that moment, I knew what I would be targeting.

"He's using that wind attack again!" called Yukari from a safe distance.

My voice struggled as I said, "Try to block it, Souji. It's all you can do!"

Souji didn't look back at me. He took my advice and steeled himself, guarding with the unreliable weapon in his hands.

The Shadow's rapier stopped mid-spin, being raised above him instead. He brought the weapon down at a diagonal angle, screaming **"WIND SCAR!" **The air seemingly snapped, breaking ground as the force violently rushed toward Souji and I. The force knocked Souji back a few steps with ease, but I felt nothing from it.

I rose to my feet, still in pain, grabbing my ally's shoulder. "I've got a plan."

Souji turned to me, catching his breath. "Tell me."

"Your Persona, Izanagi, can attack with electricity, and is weak against wind. Mine attacks with wind, and is weak to electricity. My Persona actually feels nothing from the wind attacks."

"Alright. What do we do?"

"Since he can harness your electricity, I want you to exclusively use melee attacks. My wind doesn't seem to hurt him too much, but it definitely gets his attention. When I hit him with a gust, you strike him in the eye with Izanagi."

"Why his eye?"

"Whenever he charges up, his eyes glow. Must mean something. It's the only lead we've got on a weak point, so we might as well follow it."

"What do I do if he uses his Wind Scar attack again?"

"Simple – You stand behind me and just brace for impact. I should take the brunt of the heat, and it won't effect me."

"It better not. I don't want to be responsible for you getting hurt."

"Heh. You know I _am_ responsible for this thing's existence, right?"

"Right. But this thing definitely isn't you."

I nodded. "Then let's go, partner!"

Our new plan in effect, we stood against my Shadow at different angles. "You still think you can win!" taunted the evil being as it tugged away at the chains that bound it to its throne. Its eyes already had the ominous glow within it – he must have been charging while we made our plan – his thin blade was brought downward and I rushed to guard Souji. My body welcomed the wave of wind, and neither of us were harmed.

"We've got this in the bag!" I yelled as I summoned Shui-Jing for another attack. "Garu!" The blast emerged from the ground, striking the Shadow's sword hand away. Souji's Persona appeared for a surprise attack. The cloaked hero appeared next to the Shadow's head, stabbing into its right eye with the giant weapon which I could only identify as a "Blade Spear".

The vertically inclined Shadow grunted in irritation as black slime dripped from the wound in its face. "That's it!" he screamed as he once again pulled away at his bonds. This time, however, they gave out. As the metal fell to pieces, he stood at full height, no longer tied down to the highly decorated seat. "Stab me again, weaklings!"

"Be careful!" cried Yukari from the side lines. I shot her a thumbs-up, trying to reassure her faith.

"I don't think I can make Izanagi fly that high," commented a worried Souji as he relocated to my side. "It seems that striking his eye really did some damage, though."

"So we've gotta find a way to hit him there, no matter what."

The Shadow laughed and stabbed the ground, creating a tremor that lowered Souji and I to the ground.

"Let's think for a second," I groaned, regaining my footing. "We can't get either of our Personas to physically attack his eye. You can't use your lightning against him because he knows how to counter it. My wind spell can make him flinch, but that's about it."

"Can we focus on the good things?" joked Souji, who was hoping for a useful answer.

"Hmmm..." I stopped to put together the facts. Eventually, I came to a conclusion. "If you think about it, my Persona and my Shadow reflect the skills of each other. Both can use wind, both resist wind. However, since Shui-Jing is weak to electricity, that must mean that my Shadow is as well. If we can hit his good eye with electricity, that should take him down."

"Okay. This is all theoretical, but I can see how that makes sense. How can we do this, exactly?"

"Well, we can't just hit him with lightning because he'll draw its power with his sword. But..." I looked at the weapon in my own hand. That's when the idea struck me. "Wait, I know what to do."

"What?"

"You'll see. I'll need your help to do it. When I say 'Now,' I want you to hit me with your Zio attack."

"Hit _you?_"

"Trust me."

I ran to face my Shadow, which had been waiting for my comeback. "Are you ready?" he mockingly asked, its wounded eye still slowly oozing out its dark, cloudy blood.

"Oh, I'm ready, alright..." I crushed the card in my hand, summoning Shui-Jing behind me.

_When he captured Souji's lightning, I was able to assume his weapon's hilt is made of rubber._

"Garu!"

_Naturally, without any sort of protection against electrical currents, I'm in real danger here._

I grinned as I jumped aimlessly into the air.

_But electricity won't fry an object that isn't touching the ground._

The wind spawned below me, boosting my elevation much higher than my jump had.

_Even though this makes no scientific sense, nothing in this world has so far._

"Now!" I commanded as I held the iron pipe in my left hand with a death grip as I flew above my Shadow's eyes.

_So I'll just have to hope for the best._

I readied the weapon on my shoulder as I heard the sky crack above me. My Shadow's mouth lay agape as it realized what I was doing. Once the flash appeared in my eye, I released the pipe with all the force I had. I summoned my Persona one more time, seeing the shining rod fly in a spiral toward my opponent. The electrified weapon landed in the Shadow's good eye, causing electricity to visibly surge throughout its body. I fell softly through Shui-Jing's wind spell, watching the Shadow writhe and tremble in its power. "No... **NO WAY!**" its voice echoed throughout the room as the floor beneath us violently shook. It fell to its knees as its body was reduced to to nothingness, clouded by smoke.

"Yes way," I proudly replied as I heard my friends gasp in awe.

When the smoke faded, I was standing in front of myself. My Shadow had returned to its clone-like form. It held out a hand. "You really are me, huh?" I spoke toward my clone.

"Yeah," it replied, "But you've overcome yourself, so I don't have a purpose anymore."

"You put up a hell of a fight. Didn't think a part of me could be that powerful."

"It'll only get better, y'know. As you grow, your Persona will, too."

"Looking forward to that," I answered.

"When you and I become one again, you'll become even stronger. Now, take my power."

"Okay." I shook its hand with acceptance, and it disappeared.

For a second, I just stood there silently, absorbing all I had just gone through. Soon, I felt my friends approaching me from behind.

"Good job, partner." said a surprised Souji. "_That_ was your idea? That was insane."

"Yeah, but when you're in a world like this, fighting things like that, 'insane' sort of loses its meaning."

"That was friggin' crazy!" exclaimed an exhilarated Junpei. "I don't even know what just happened!"

After his voice came another one that was much quieter. "So, that was all true?" came the concerned voice of Yukari.

I was stunned for a second. "Y-yeah... Everything it said."

"About me? About Mitsuru?"

I sighed. "It's hard to admit, but... Yeah."

"So you really just..?"

"...Yeah."

"It's okay, I won't let it change anything. I never would've thought you felt that way for Mitsuru, though."

"Can we not talk about that? Within the last twenty minutes, I've had all my personal secrets exposed to all of you, I've created a way to fight monsters with my mind, I've been electrocuted, and I threw an electrified object into the eye a giant monster that came from my mind."

"Okay," the pink-clad girl responded, "We can talk later."

"Yeah, I really don't have any energy left."

"Of course you don't," piped up Teddie, "This place isn't for humans. You all must be drained."

"Oh yeah, you were gonna show us the way out, right?" Junpei asked.

"Right," replied the bear. "Right this way!"

I adjusted my glasses, surprised that they weren't damaged in the battle, and that they stayed on the entire time. We followed Teddie to the area where we found ourselves in when we first entered.

Teddie stood in front of the central circle, and tapped his feet against the ground. A puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the room, revealing a stack of three old-fashioned television sets.

"Whoa, what the hell?" I voiced in awe.

"Wh-where did these come from?" asked an equally awe-stricken Yukari.

"Just go through these and you'll end up on the other side," instructed the bear. "Now, go!"

I voluntarily went through the first one, crawling into the screen. I lost my vision for a second, but found that I was exiting the TV that we entered through. I took in the light atmosphere of the Junes department store as my friends followed in behind me.

"We're back," announced Souji.

A woman's voice spoke through the speakers in the store, "Attention, shoppers. Our daily limited-time sale will now begin at the side dish area on the first floor. Why not try the delicious, fresh produce Junes picked for you this morning as your side dish for dinner tonight?"

Junpei's head swung upward in surprise. "Crap, it's getting late!"

"Guess we were in there for a long time," responded Yukari.

I scratched the back of my neck. "Here I was hoping that world could serve as our very own Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

Souji was looking idly at a nearby poster. "This is that poster from the creepy room," he explained.

"So the woman was that enka singer Misuzu Hiiragi," said Yukari, "She's been all over the news lately. Something about her husband having an affair with that reporter who died the other day."

"Yeah," I responded, "Mayumi Yamano."

"Wait, wait, wait... Does that mean that the freaky room from inside the TV has something to do with the reporter's death? I mean... There _was_ that noose on the ceiling."

"Gah, cut it out!" I protested in frustration, "We seriously gotta stop talking like this. This is none of our business, and thinking like this won't bring the woman back."

"Right," Souji backed me up, "Besides, we've already witnessed enough strange things for a day."

"Good point... I'm really tired. I wanna go home and rest," complained Yukari.

"I'm getting out of here, then," I answered, "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Feeling tired as ever from the battle, I dragged myself home. When I reached the house, I didn't talk to anyone. I just collapsed into my bed and let the sleep overtake me.


	7. For a Small Town Girl

__I never really knew how much Junpei cared about Saki Konishi.__

__Today, I had a better idea of it.__

**Chapter 7: For a Small Town Girl**

A loud, high-pitched beeping decimated my well-needed slumber. It was the morning of April fifteenth, and I felt like shit. I just laid there, staring at the ceiling, wishing that I could stay in bed forever. The alarm clock on my right continued its assault and I blindly threw my hand onto it, desperately searching for a snooze button. I hit the button and dozed off near-instantly.

Ten minutes later, the annoyance returned. I decided to drag myself out of bed, hoping the audible rain outside could bring me back from the dead. I left my room to take a well-needed shower before making breakfast.

"You don't look so good," voiced a worried Ken.

"I don't feel so good," I answered, picking at the lazily-made scrambled eggs that I managed to conjure up in my wake.

"So, where were you yesterday?" my brother asked, "You came home pretty late."

I contemplated telling him of the supernatural events that went down yesterday, but there was no way he'd believe me. I myself was still having trouble believing it. "Just hung out with the new guy... Hey, we got any energy drinks?"

"I think you hid a Mad Bull at the back of the fridge last week," Ken answered.

I clumsily searched through the refrigerator, finding the grey and blue can as promised. "Saved for a rainy day, huh?" I joked, cracking open the seal.

"Why don't you just drink coffee?" Ken asked in prodding curiousity.

"We get like thirty years of acceptable immaturity before we're supposed to act like adults," I answered, "Why not appreciate it?"

Ken pondered the answer while I made for the door, exiting into the rain.

"Hey," came an unseen voice. I knew the voice too well. So well that I didn't even turn around to identify it.

"Morning, Rio." I kept my response short. She was obviously talking to me for a reason, and I wanted to hear it.

"How've you been?" she asked.

"Alright. Feel pretty burnt today, though," I answered before taking a well-needed sip of the energy drink in my hand.

She walked behind me at about a foot away. We didn't show signs of socialization. I never turned around to look at her. This became routine for our enfeebled friendship. Everyone in Inaba knew everyone else. For the last year or so, we took caution in knowing that none of the nosy neighbours of town should see us together. If her parents caught any news of us coming in contact, they'd flip a shit. It was just how it had to be.

"So... Yumi Ozawa, huh?"

"Yumi Ozawa? What's that got to do with..." my voice trailed off and my palm met my face. "How did I forget about that?"

"Wait, what?" asked Rio in genuine surprise. "Forgot about what?"

"Forgot I told her that we'd go out some time. I just did that to get her off my case."

"Not according to what they're saying at school," Rio replied.

I walked behind a house, and she followed. No one would see us here. Now that we were facing each other, we didn't have to talk so loudly. "Why, what'd you hear?"

"That you waited outside of her house, confessed your deep attraction for her, and asked her out," Rio explained, colourless eyes showing a slight discomfort in her description.

I sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"So, what are you gonna tell her?"

It was difficult to talk while facing her. My eyes tried to find a place to rest that wasn't anything I had liked about her. Not her tied black hair that flowed down her back. Not her cheerful eyes that were always comforting to see. Not the brown sweater-vest that she wore over her uniform. Not her empty, idle hands that I used to occupy with my own. The great attraction that once existed between us had disintegrated over a year ago, yet I still wasn't completely comfortable talking to her about other girls.

My eyes found an easy spot on the watch I was wearing. "I'll probably just take her out, as promised. Can't guarantee it'll be very fun for either of us."

"Always a gentleman," she giggled, "Tell me how it goes. I obviously can't get good information from just listening to the gossip."

I left the alley and she followed shortly, continuing our usual method of communication. We ran into Souji, who had been walking the same path to the school. "Morning, Souji."

"You, too," he dully replied, before his eyebrow signalled that he had not met the girl walking behind me.

"Oh, this is Rio Iwasaki," I introduced, "Rio, meet Souji Seta, the new guy."

"Nice to meet you, Iwasaki-san," he politely greeted.

"You, too," she subtly mocked. He didn't exactly laugh, so I couldn't tell if he was offended or if he just didn't catch the joke.

"How do you two know each other?"

"Well, pretty much everyone in Inaba knows each other," I explained, "Other than that, Rio and I dated a little bit."

"A 'little bit'?", her voice showed offence, "You were crazy about me."

"Yeah, yeah – Nothing wrong with being friends, though."

Souji held a curious expression on his face, but it was clear to him that whatever he didn't know about wasn't something that we wanted to talk about.

We continued to walk along, when we passed two students from Yasogami. "When I looked by, I saw three police cars zooming by," said the nasally voice of one of the girls, holding a red umbrella.

Her friend, under a white umbrella, asked "You live by the police station, right? Did you hear anything?"

At this point, I was getting pretty curious. The snobbier-sounding girl said "I heard some yelling, but nothing more. Total disappointment."

Moments later, I heard sirens wailing in the distance. "Wonder what that's all about," Rio commented.

"Hey, Souji-kun. Your uncle's a detective, right?" I asked, "You hear anything about this?"

"Nah," he quietly answered, "He was out of the house before I woke up."

I sighed. "Alright. Well, let's just get to school. We'll hear more about this eventually."

The school day went by as usual, but I kept hearing bits and pieces of chatter of more supernatural rumour bullshit. However, ever since our discovery of the world behind the TV, I've been keeping my ears alert for that sort of thing. For an unknown reason, there was an assembly being held in the auditorium which no one heard about beforehand.

"Hey, where's Mitsuru? She said she'd be here after lunch," voiced a worried Yukari. I, for one, was relieved by Mitsuru's unexplained absence.

"Do they always hold assemblies so suddenly?" Souji asked, standing with Yukari, Junpei and myself. He scanned the room, stopping at Junpei. "Hey, is something wrong, Iori-san?"

It didn't hit me earlier that he was being extremely quiet and possibly even gloomy. "I'm good," he abruptly answered. That was a badly-covered lie. "...and just call me Junpei, man."

The room was bustling with curious voices until Ms. Sofue, an Egypt-obsessed history teacher, arrived at the podium. "Everyone, please settle down. Our principal has an announcement to make."

The principal, whose name I can't recall, made his way onto the podium, a long white beard hanging in front of the microphone. "I regret to say that I have a terrible announcement for all of you." My attention was piqued. "One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of Class 3... has passed away." That struck hard. In shock, I searched through the audience for either of her siblings. None of them were present.

"She... died?" said a shocked Yukari. I glanced at Junpei. His head was hung low, hat concealing his eyes.

"Ms. Konishi was found deceased early this morning," the principal continued, "The reasons behind her passing are currently under investigation by the police."

For Junpei's sake, I didn't ask if he knew anything about it. I kept silent until the assembly had ended. On my way out, I heard a girl say "She died the same way as that reporter, right? That's so creepy..."

The girl she was talking to said "Well, last time, it was on an antenna. This girl's body was hanging from a telephone pole. Does that mean that there's a serial killer in Inaba?"

"I heard someone say that the cause of death was some unknown poison." _Okay, now that is bullshit. No way would someone from our school know the cause of death._

"Unknown poison? Not sure I believe that. Oh, but did you hear? Someone saw a girl that looked like Saki Konishi on that Midnight Channel thing. Isn't that scary?"

I thought about it for a second. The girl on the TV... It could've been anyone from Yasogami. However, this girl might be onto something. They left shortly after.

It took my a moment to notice that Souji and Yukari were right behind me, eavesdropping on the same people. "Guess it's easy to spread rumours about someone when you don't actually know them," Souji said.

Junpei approached us, asking "Did you guys check out the TV last night?"

Yukari sighed. "Junpei, don't tell me you're going to start obsessing over that, too."

"Just, listen for a second..." his voice still sounded like he was in pain. He _did_ have a thing for Saki, after all. "Something kept bothering me, so I watched it again. I really think that the girl on the screen was Saki-senpai." My eyes widened. "I'm serious. Senpai looked like she was... writhing in pain. After that, she just disappeared."

"So... What does this mean?" I asked, "The Midnight Channel is connected to the murders?"

"Well, you heard that her body was found in a similar way as the reporter's, right? Remember that guy from a few days back, Yukari? That guy who said that Mayumi Yamano was his soulmate?"

"And people think that the Midnight Channel shows them their soulmate..." Souji added, and I put the pieces together.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yukari wondered, apparently not getting it.

Coming to a realization, I answered, "It means that the people who appear on the Midnight Channel are the ones who get killed!"

"Yeah, that's what I mean," replied Junpei, "I mean, we can't say for sure, but... It's too serious for me to just call a coincidence."

"Hey," Souji piped up, "Teddie said that someone's been throwing people into his world."

"And that room with all the Misuzu Hiiragi posters... It has to have something to do with Ms. Yamano," Yukari added, understanding what we were getting at.

"Exactly, there's gotta be a connection," said Junpei, "Couldn't that TV world be involved with the deaths of Saki-senpai and the reporter?"

Souji took in a breath. "You might be right."

I thought he was right. He had to be right. I explained, "If this is correct, then there's a good chance that the two of them went inside of the TV world. That would explain the posters in that freaky room. So if we look around, we might find someplace that has to do with Konishi-san."

"Wait, you really wanna go back in there?" Yukari protested, voice oozing disapproval.

"Yeah," answered Junpei, "I want to find out for myself."

"Just let the police handle it, this isn't something we should be sticking our heads into," continued Yukari.

"You really think they're gonna get to the bottom of this?" Souji answered, "They haven't found any explanation for Ms. Yamano's death yet."

"Or, y'know, we can just tell them that we fell into a TV and found an entire world in there," I joked, "That'll take care of everything."

Junpei nodded. "If I'm completely wrong, that's fine. I just want to know why Senpai had to die like this."

I knew this was important to him. "Well, I doubt there's any way for us to ignore it at this point... I've got your back on this."

"Alright, I'm gonna get ready," Junpei explained, "I'll be waiting at the same TV in Junes."

Yukari had a concerned look on her face. "I get why he's so determined, but what if we can't get out this time? What do we do...?"

"I'll go with him," answered Souji, "I believe him."

Yukari sighed, "You two are serious, huh..? Well, let's go to Junes. I'll tag along."

Half an hour later, we arrived at Junes. In the electronics department, Junpei was waiting for us with several items in his hands. "You guys are here!" he exclaimed. In his hands were a golf club, a red monkey wrench, and a baseball bat.

"I'm actually here to stop you, Stupei," explained Yukari, "You really shouldn't do this, it's way too dangerous."

"Well, if we go in from the same TV, maybe we'll see the bear again!" he answered.

"Well, 'maybe' you won't!" Yukari argued, actually thinking rationally.

"I can't just act like everyone else and pretend that this has nothing to do with me," Junpei explained.

Yukari's eyes lowered. "That's true, but..."

"Think about it," I interrupted, "Could _you_ just walk away from this?"

"I'll come with you, but I'm worried about Yukari," Souji answered, "She doesn't need to get hurt in there for our sake."

"Smooth," I replied.

"It'll just be us three," answered Junpei. "But we'll still need Yukari's help from the outside." Until then, I hadn't noticed that he had a rope tied around his waist.

"Oh, I get it," I said, "Junpei tugs three times fast, you pull him up."

"Basically, yeah," Junpei agreed. "Now, these are for you guys."

Souji was given the driver, and I was given the wrench. It was heavier than it needed to be, and the lack of length didn't exactly help with that, but it was guaranteed to give a good hit when I needed to. "This is promising," I joked.

Junpei tapped the edge of his baseball bat against the floor. "Better than going in empty-handed. Let's go."

We headed toward the TV. I turned around with a warning. "Oh, and Yukari – please don't let go of the rope."

"Wait, wait!" Yukari protested as Souji connected us to the TV realm. Ignoring her pleas, we dropped in once again.


	8. Entering Her Lonely World

**[A/N Figure I'd be a cool cat about things and publicly do review replies rather than just reply over personal messages (which I've been doing up until now) so yeah. I'll post up replies of reviews of the last chapter that were written before this one was completed. So yeah. Gimme some reviews, guys!]**

**Kuoffnet: **You have no idea how excited I am to see that someone new is giving a review. I've definitely been worried about me turning Ketsui into a Mary Sue. Every time I write up something involving his actions, or others affecting him, I check over it to make sure he's not a godly hero. Besides, he takes a back seat for Souji. I'm also trying to make sure that his role isn't too similar to Yosuke, which is one reason why Junpei was given the connection to Saki. In terms of Ketsui's romantic affairs, I'm gonna do my best to make it rocky. I can't say that anyone would be given the "Kanji role." There'll surely be a character who has issues with sexual confusion, but it won't be Akihiko. Some of Ai's involvement has already been planned.

* * *

><p><em><em>We had found a world where anyone could see the true faces of other people.<em>_

__Did any of us really have the right to see the hidden thoughts of another, even in death?__

**Chapter 8: Entering Her Lonely World**

I landed on my feet, being prepared for the fall this time. Souji did the same, while Junpei wasn't so lucky, landing flat on his ass for the second time. I looked around the foggy area before equipping the glasses that Teddie gave me. "Hey, we're in the same place as yesterday."

"So, Junpei was right about using the same TV," Souji agreed, putting on his own glasses.

"You guys?" asked a familiar, high-pitched voice, "Why'd you come back?" We turned toward the squeaking steps of Teddie, who didn't look very happy to see us. "I get it," he growled, "You're the ones behind this!"

"Wait, what'd you just say?" asked Junpei, his tone emitting hostility.

"Lately, I can tell that someone's been throwing people in here," answered the bear, as it turned away in thought. "It's really messing up this world. It keeps making the fog clear, and that makes the Shadows go berserk!" Teddie turned around and pointed a thick, fuzzy finger at me. "This is the second time you guys came here, and I don't think anyone forced you in. That makes you very suspicious." He took a look at Souji. "You might have a special power to fight the Shadows, but that doesn't make you innocent."

I scratched my head at the thought. A serial murderer who did his job by throwing people into his TV, where they'd then be attacked by those Shadow freaks. How far-fetched. "You really think that we'd go around throwing people into TV screens?"

"See, you already know how to get people into this world. You guys must be the ones throwing people in here!" it growled, harmlessly, "Raaawr!"

"Don't just label us like that," defended Souji, calm as ever.

Junpei, however, didn't seem too fond of playing nice with the bear. "The hell do you mean, we're throwing people in? If someone got trapped in here, they might die!" I don't think Junpei was following the same track that I was. "Who would do such a... Wait a minute."

"Saki Konishi and Mayumi Yamano," I voiced, "Someone must have forced them into this world before they died."

"That's gotta be it," Junpei agreed.

"I agree," said Souji, sharing our view. "Let's assume Teddie's right and someone's been using this world to kill people. If that's the case, then..."

"_What_ are you guys mumbling about?" interrupted an angry Teddie, "This place is a one-way door. Once you get in, you can't get out. Remember how I had to let you guys out last time?"

I understood what he was getting at. "So, you're saying that if anyone witnessed the dangers of this place and had the idea to use it for murder, they'd die here, anyway. _We_ were the only ones that you let out, so _we_ are the only suspects you have."

"Doesn't matter if the bear doesn't wanna let us out this time," taunted Junpei, "This time we have a lifeli..." His voice trailed off as his eyes met the rope in his hands which was now cut short. "What the...?" His attention was back on the bear. "Hey, you better let us out once we're done investigating here!"

Teddie let out another lighthearted growl. "I'm the one who wants to investigate! I've lived here for a long time, but it's never been noisy like this until now. Do you have proof? Prove to me that you're not the one throwing people in here!"

"What kind of proof could we possibly have?" asked Souji, a hint of frustration in his voice.

"See, it _is_ you guys!" Teddie accused.

"It's not us," I said, "We have nothing to prove to you."

"And you better answer our questions," yelled Junpei, "This time, there's a reason for us being here. We're damn serious!"

Teddie asked, "A reason?" the hostility gone from his voice.

"People in our world have been dying," Souji explained, "Every time the fog appears, a corpse shows up with it!" Unlike Souji, I hadn't noticed that there was heavy fog present the day before Saki's death. He was more perceptive than I thought. "It _has_ to be related to this world. If you know anything, tell us."

"Well," started Teddie, "I know that when it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here. It's really dangerous when the fog lifts, because it makes the Shadows violent."

Junpei voiced his confusion in the matter before Teddie began to accuse us of being the culprit once again. I blocked out their voices as I started to combine what we've learned so far.

"I get it," I exclaimed, interrupting their argument, "Whenever Inaba gets that insanely thick fog, someone shows up dead in some high place, like the antenna that Yamano was found on. When we get the fog, this world loses its fog, and apparently it pisses off all those demon things, the Shadows." I stopped to breathe for a second and I saw that my friends were still having trouble understanding what I was explaining. "We've seen how dangerous the Shadows are. They could've killed us yesterday. So if there's a person in this world, and Inaba gets foggy, then the people in here get killed by the Shadows. For whatever reason, their body is returned to our side, and they fall from the sky or something. That's how the bodies end up where they do."

Souji nodded, comprehending my theory. Junpei scratched his head, but said "That actually makes sense."

"If you're right, then no one in Inaba is safe." said Souji.

"Well, what is this world, anyway?" asked Souji, "I mean, this area in particular, with the cameras and lights, looks a lot like a film studio from our world."

"The Midnight Channel," said Junpei in what seemed like an epiphany, "Do the images from the Midnight Channel come from this studio?" He turned to the bear. "Has someone been filming the people who end up in here?"

"Filming..?" Teddie answered, apparently not knowing what the word meant. "This world's always been like this. Nobody has ever done that 'filming' thing here."

"Always been like this..?" I asked, absent-mindedly.

"The only things that are here are me and the Shadows," the bear answered.

"Well, we don't really know what these Shadow things are, or what _you _are," said an angry Junpei, "If anything should be proving its innocence, it's you. You're the most suspicious thing in here! Maybe _you're_ the real culprit!" The bear frowned at Junpei's accusation. "And what the hell's up with this stupid costume? It's about time you showed us your face!"

Junpei's arms latched onto the top of Teddie's head and he began to pull. The bear's arms swung around wildly as it failed to fight off its attacker. The top of the bear costume came off with the sound of popping suction as the inside of the costume revealed... _nothing._

"Holy shit!" I screamed as I fell backward onto the ground. Junpei dropped the top of the costume, which was still smiling, as he and Souji released equally surprised reactions. "It's completely hollow!"

The body of the bear swung its arms senselessly as we stared at it in shock. Slowly, it stepped toward its head, picking it up and replacing it with ease. "Please don't do that again," begged Teddie. "There's no way I can be the culprit. I just live here. I want it to be peaceful again." Its quiet cuteness seemed to calm our group down, and Junpei didn't seem completely pissed off anymore. "Okay, I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits, but I want you to find the real guy who did it. You have to stop him. Promise me, or else..." I was trying to think of what he was threatening us with, but he just said "I'm not gonna let you guys out of here."

"Dammit, isn't that asking for a little too much from us?" I asked, "How likely is it that the guy is in this world right now and we can find him today?"

"I'm sorry, but this can't keep going on," answered a calm Teddie, "My home here will be a complete mess. And then... and then I..." The bear started bawling, to our surprise.

"H-hey, why are you crying?" asked Junpei, "This thing's really creeping me out."

The bear still crying in front of us, I turned to Souji, who had been quiet for the last while. "What do you think we should do?"

Souji lowered his head until he was at eye level with the tearful bear. "I promise you, we will find him."

"Thank you!" was the bear's appreciative reply.

"You have my word as well. How about you, Junpei?" I asked.

Junpei shrugged. "I still don't trust the bear very much, but... Yeah, I've got your back."

"Guess you should know our names, since you told us yours yesterday," I said, "I'm Ketsui Kibo. Your 'Sensei' over here is Souji Seta, and this guy is Junpei Iori."

"Good to know!" responded Teddie.

"Now that that's out of the way, how do you suggest we find the culprit?" Souji asked.

"I dunno," replied Teddie, cluelessly.

"Great," complained Junpei, "Where do we start..?"

This wasn't gonna get us anywhere. I started to think of anything that the culprit has been involved in. I thought of the creepy room filled with Misuzu Hiiragi posters. "Can you find a place where someone from our world has been?"

"Oh," answered the bear, apparently paying more attention than I had assumed, "I can show you where the last person came in."

"The last person?" reacted Junpei, attention piqued, "You mean Saki-senpai?"

"I don't know the name," answered Teddie, "I'll take you where they were. Maybe we can find a clue."

"Sounds great," I replied, idly swinging the wrench in my hand.

"Err, but all I can do is bring you to the place," the bear explained, "You guys will have to defend yourselves."

I gazed into my palm as I spawned Shui-Jing's card. "Not a problem."

"W-wait, what about me?" asked a nervous Junpei, "I don't have the powers that you guys do. I mean, I've got this bat, but it's more for show." He turned to the bear. "You know more about this world than we do. Can't you protect us?"

"Uh-uh, no way," Teddie answered, "I've got no muscles."

"What if I...?" Souji's voice trailed off and he stepped toward the bear. He raised a hand and gave its head a light push. Instantly, Teddie fell back onto the ground. "Whoa!"

Teddie's limbs flailed uselessly like he was an upside-down turtle. "N-noooo..." it cried.

I sighed. "You can't be serious..."

Junpei scratched the back of his head. "We swore to find the culprit, and _this_ is all the backup we get?"

"Relax," I said, "With Souji and I here, no one's gonna get hurt."

"Oh yeah, let me ask you something," said Teddie as he calmed down. "Who's this Saki-senpai person? Someone you know?"

"That doesn't matter right now," responded Junpei, "Well, we know she might have been thrown down here. Hopefully we can find something."

I walked up to Teddie and helped him up. "Let's get going."

Teddie brought us through a path on yet another narrow catwalk. Eventually, we came to a red portal with rectangular black ripples within it, much like the one that had led to the strange room we ended up in yesterday. Stepping through, we found ourselves in a town that looked uncomfortably familiar.

"What is this place?" asked Souji, studying his surroundings.

It was a clone of Inaba's shopping district with an odd lack of saturation. The area looked drearily yellow, shone down by a sky that just looked like the portal we stepped into. I asked Teddie, "Why does this place look like the shopping district?"

"Some weird places have been appearing here recently," answered the bear, "Things are getting so tangled, I really don't know what to do."

Junpei tapped his shoe against the concrete road. "Just like Inaba..." He turned his attention to Teddie, who was standing at least ten feet behind us. "Hey, why're you staying so far from us? You better not be planning to run away as soon as we turn our backs."

"Of course not," Teddie answered, "I mean, if I stand too close, I might get in your way."

I contemplated the spitting image of Inaba's shopping district. "Of all places in our world, why did this world replicate this one?"

Teddie shook his head. "How should I know? This is reality for the one who's here."

Junpei's eyes widened. "That... makes no sense." He looked down the street. "Oh, Saki-senpai's store isn't too far from here. We should check that out."

"Good idea," agreed Souji, "Lead the way."

We walked through a completely silent street, stopping at the Konishi Liquor Store. It looked the same as usual, but the door was replaced by yet another black and red portal. "Could Saki-senpai have disappeared here?" asked Junpei, not expecting an answer from anyone around him. "What could've happened?"

I felt like I needed to voice my thoughts. "Teddie said that this place is reality for those that are here. If Saki-senpai really did end up in this world, this was definitely _her_ reality."

"I think I get what you mean," answered Junpei, "Let's head inside."

We entered the portal, finding ourselves inside of a strange clone of the Konishi Liquor Store. Boxes of various types of liquor lined shelves and fridges, an orange tiled floor at our feet, all things that I recognized. However, there were hundreds of barrels stacked toward an unreasonably high ceiling, and the place was a mess. Various work materials were strewn about, and some of the barrels were on the ground, leaking an unknown alcohol.

"Saki, how many times do I have to tell you?" came the disembodied voice of a middle-aged man.

"That's... Saki's father?" voiced Junpei, curiously.

"You know what the neighbours say about you, right?" the voice continued, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations. Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work _there_ of all places!"

"I can't believe this..." sighed a worried Junpei, "She seemed like she had fun at work... She never told me about anything like this. This is her reality, so... _This_ is how she really saw things?"

Junpei stepped up to a table that had pictures on it. "Photos? Hey, is this..." Junpei picked up one of them. "We took this the other day, with some of the other part-timers at Junes."

Souji and I looked over his shoulder. I scanned the faces, most of which I recognized. Saki and Junpei were standing next to each other, smiles on their faces.

"I never had the chance to say it..." came a disembodied feminine voice.

"Is that... Senpai's voice?" asked a startled Junpei. "I always wanted to tell Jun-chan..." Junpei's eyes widened in anxiety before the voice continued, "...that he was a real pain in the ass. I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all. Then he goes and takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic, trying to brighten up my day and make everything seem so exciting... What a dipshit."

Junpei flinched at the words. "...Is this really what she felt?"


	9. Junpei's Truths

**[A/N I had a lot of trouble with Junpei's actual Shadow issues, but I had a tonne of ideas for what the Shadow would be like and how the battle would go. My plan for the second half of the battle is one that is just, well, really exciting to think about. I'll get to writing that part sometime soon. Can't wait for it myself.]**

**[October 06, 2011 Update: Made some big changes to Shadow Junpei's initial conversation and changed the battle scene a little bit.]**

* * *

><p><em><em>What happened between my Shadow and I...<em>_

__I didn't think it would happen again.__

__I was wrong.__

**Chapter 9: Junpei's Truths**

The three of us stood in an unreal copy of the Konishi Liquor Store. There wasn't much we could do but listen as Saki Konishi's honest feelings were poured out to us. "I can't believe what's been happening with my family," sighed the girl's voice, "Naoki-kun runs into trouble with the neighbours whenever he goes out to buy something. Chidori-chan just stays away from everybody and hardly even talks to me. Our parents don't even seem to care anymore. It's like we're all separated just because of that stupid store."

I looked at the ground, trying to compile my memories of the Konishi family. "...Was it really this bad for them?" I asked, "I can't imagine how Junes' arrival could cause this much damage."

Saki's voice came back, saying, "I wish it would all just disappear..." The voice held both frustration and hostility. It was direct, unhesitating. Honest.

"This can't be true," spoke a shaken Junpei, "Saki-senpai was nothing like this."

I didn't think that. After what I experienced, I came down to the conclusion that every single word we've heard here was Saki's bare thoughts. There was apparently nothing to hide when a person was dropped into this world. "How can you be sure?" I asked, "She could have bottled it all up."

"No, there's no way..."

"I'm sorry," said Souji, "I'm with Ketsui on this one. This is how she felt, and we can't deny that."

"Whaddya mean, 'we'?" Junpei snapped, "You didn't know her! You don't know a damn thing about our relationship!"

While his words were strong, it was easy to see that Junpei had his own doubts. We just stood there for a moment, letting him calm down.

"_Relationship? _What relationship?" asked Junpei. I blinked and realized that Junpei hadn't moved his mouth. It was someone else.

Junpei, in shock at hearing his own voice, turned around to face the source of the words. We saw a carbon copy of Junpei standing in front of us. It stood at the same tall height that Junpei had. It wore the colourless Yasogami High uniform jacket open with a blue long-sleeved dress shirt underneath that needed to be ironed. Its hair was too short to be seen underneath Junpei's signature baseball cap. Much like my Shadow, this thing's eyes were glowing bright yellow.

Junpei backed up. "N-no way..!"

This inhuman copy of Junpei was a frightening sight, but not nearly as frightening as what Junpei had anticipated. He saw it happen to me, and he knew it was about to happen to him. This monster was about to pour all of Junpei's personal thoughts onto the ground for us all to see, and Junpei wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop it.

"Saki and I were hardly friends," the other Junpei taunted, "But no, I just _had_ to keep pushing. I just pushed and pushed, not caring if she was on the edge!"

Junpei gritted his teeth. "Don't start this shit with me!"

"I thought it'd be _so cool_," teased Shadow Junpei, fixing his jacket, "The daughter of a failing business dating the son of the competitor's manager. With something like that, I'd have the balls to handle _anything!_"

I would have offered some sort of emotional support, but I knew it would just be a lie. This monster was expressing something that Junpei really felt, whether he wanted to or not. I looked at Souji and Teddie for their opinions. Their eyes said to let Junpei face himself.

Shadow Junpei raised his voice, "But be honest, man. We know you didn't come down here for _her_ sake."

Junpei's voice struggled as he begged, "Be quiet, dammit..."

"Junpei," I interrupted, "You've got to accept it. You know you do."

He just tightened the grip on his bat. "But it's not true, Ketsui! It's all a goddamn lie!"

_"Really?"_ mocked the Shadow, "Am I lying when I say that I didn't have Saki on your mind when you jumped in today. I just thought it'd be fun to have an adventure."

Junpei turned his head to the side. "Don't listen to him, guys. Just don't..."

The Shadow continued, "After all, what else is there to do in this town? Hell, they don't even have a baseball team here. All I have is this world, this insane TV world where nothing is right. Even if it put everyone in danger, this place would provide some fun. And hey, who knows? Maybe we'd get a chance to save someone. That'd make me feel a lot better about myself, right?"

"Shut... up," breathed Junpei, "Shut the hell up."

"I only do things for fun," claimed the Shadow, raising its voice, "I have all this potential, yet I just throw it all away." The inhuman glow of the Shadow's eyes grew, and a red aura began to form around it.

Teddie jumped backward. "It's going bearserk!"

Souji readied his weapon, saying, "It's gonna attack us like Ketsui's did!"

"Junpei!" I yelled, grabbing his shoulder, "You know what it's about to do. You've _got _to accept it before it transforms!"

**"I can't!"** Junpei screamed as his knees hit the floor. **"This is **_**not**_** the truth!"**

Shadow Junpei stepped toward us. "You know that I'm right! All you ever want is to have fun. You don't care about the consequences, or how you could be a better person. **Hell, you don't even care about Saki!** You just thought it would be cool to be a hero for once. **You're nothing but a child.**"

"You're so full of shit!" accused the struggling voice of Junpei as he got back to his feet, "You're nothing like me... **YOU AREN'T ME!**"

The world flashed as Junpei's neck found itself within the Shadow's grip. "That's right," mocked the Shadow, "I'm not you. **I am **_**ME**_** now!**" The Shadow tossed Junpei away from him as flames began to form in its hands. "So, why keep you around? **Time to say goodbye!**"

"Dammit, Junpei!" I grabbed Junpei by the arms, dragging him to safety while Souji stepped in front of us, prepared for battle. Junpei found his footing, and I regrouped with Souji in time to see the Shadow transform.

Shadow Junpei's body flew into the air before it erupted in blue flames. I shielded my eyes from the light as I saw its silhouette violently twist and grow.

Various large pieces of metal began to fly around the room. They returned to the flames and a humanoid shape appeared from it. Stepping from the fire, I saw a headless suit of armour which stood at about twelve feet high. The armour was flawlessly white, such that it would shimmer in the light. In its left hand was a comically oversized battleaxe which held bright orange flames at the tip of its golden blade. The other hand moved idly as it effortlessly juggled four strange red orbs. The body landed on the ground, causing a small quake that shook our footing. It stood up straight as a final piece, the helmet, landed where there was no head. The helmet's face opened up as fire appeared from inside of it, revealing a cartoon-like face that cackled as it materialized.

I heard Junpei far behind us, saying "_This_ is my creation?"

Souji turned to me, asking "Got a plan?"

I fell to the most basic tactic of learning an enemy, taught to me by countless video games. "Make small jabs, but don't put yourself at risk. All we're gonna do for now is observe his capabilities until we can come up with a real plan."

"**I am a Shadow!**" roared the distorted voice of Shadow Junpei, "**The true self!**" Its head fell back and it let out an audible yawn. "If I'm having this much fun, why should I put effort into anything?"

"The hell's this thing think he is?" asked an enraged Junpei, "He doesn't know me at all!"

"Teddie!" I called, "Any advice?"

"Errr... W-well..." Teddie nervously stuttered, "Remember what I told you! Try as many different attacks as possible and see what works on him!"

"Got it!" I steadied the heavy wrench in my left hand, summoning my Persona card in the other. "Garu!"

The purple-robed apparition of Shui-Jing appeared, unleashing a supernatural gust from the mirror on his chest. It struck the Shadow's head, causing him to step back, but the face smiled once again and laughed in my face. "You think that's gonna take me down?"

"It's not true, Saki..." Junpei shakily spoke to someone who wasn't there, "I came here for you, and only for you!"

The Shadow's right arm began to wind up, emitting metallic noises that caused me to raise my guard. In an instant, he had thrown the giant flaming axe toward me, and I had barely jumped out of the way. Several chains between his palm and the axe's handle showed that they were connected as the axe retracted, finding its way back into the Shadow's hand. "You got lucky!"

Suddenly, the Shadow's head was struck by lightning, causing it to redirect its attention to Souji.

"Get ready to move!" Souji warned as we kept our eyes on the Shadow's arms.

Its left hand continued to juggle the four orbs before one of them was shot toward Souji, who rolled out of the way. The orb struck the keg that was behind him, setting the wood and alcohol ablaze.

"Shit," I cursed, "There's a lot more liquor where that came from. We gotta get out of here before the place burns down!"

Teddie and Junpei evacuated the building, Souji and I not far behind.

The oversized knight decimated the wall as the interior of the liquor store became completely engulfed in flames. "Let's take it outside," it laughed, "It was getting kinda heated in there anyway." Another flaming orb came from his hand, speeding toward me.

I froze in place as I was struck by the blazing ball. I fell to the ground, singed. Looking back up, I observed the Shadow. I likened the opponent to fictional bipedal machines. Since they were based on a human structure, balance was key to their performance. "Its leg," I called, "We gotta take out one of its legs!" It might not have chosen to chase us yet, but if it did, there's no way that we'd be able to outrun it.

"Heh, we can take him," spoke a distant Junpei, who was sounding more relaxed. "I can destroy that thing with my bare hands."

I got back on my feet and caught up to Souji, who was pointing at our target. "If we strike both sides of his knee simultaneously, that should take it out."

"I'll give that a try," I quietly affirmed.

"Alright! Then let's go, partner."

We crushed the cards in our hands in unison, yelling "PERSONA!"

The dark, heroic figure of Izanagi appeared alongside the tranquil one of Shui-Jing as they raised their blades. In a second, they both stabbed into the knight's knee, causing it to fall down on it. For the first time, the Shadow looked like it had taken damage as it vibrated in place. "You assholes! Now you're _really _gonna get it!"

He shot another flaming orb at us, this time toward Souji. He leaped out of the way, but it curved in mid-air and struck him to the ground. I wanted to help him up, but I saw yet another orb flying in his direction, knowing that if we attempted to dodge it, it would simply home in on him again.

I turned my eyes back to Souji, hoping to come up with a plan, when a figure suddenly appeared, standing stoically.

I had to blink to confirm what I just saw. Junpei deflected the orb right back! "**HOME RUN!**" Junpei exclaimed as he swung the bat back down to the ground.

The fiery rock found its way to the Shadow's shoulder, causing it to flinch. Shocked at its new opponent, it stared us down in scorn.

"Hell, yeah, Junpei!" I cheered.

"We can't lose now!" came the voice of Teddie.

"Alright!" called Souji, "Junpei, let's show him your Persona!"

Junpei nodded his head with a grin. "Let's kick some ass!"


	10. Junpei's Aggression

**[A/N Alright, took a bit longer than I thought it would, but I've been a bit busy lately. _I've gotta get my ass in gear for the new semester, so the next chapter will probably take a little longer to make. Hopefully during this bit of downtime I'll have more people notice the story to give me some feedback when I ring up the next chapter. Gotta say, though, I'm really proud of this chapter.]_**

**_[October 06, 2011 Update: Changed bits of dialogue, made minor corrections. Ketsui no longer sees Arcana names/numbers except for his own.]_**

* * *

><p><em><em>Summoning supernatural beings from the recesses of our minds...<em>_

__Beings that appeared and disappeared like the wind, not before doing something absolutely incredible.__

__Was every human capable of using a power like this?__

**Chapter 10: Junpei's Aggression**

There we were, ready for battle in an otherworldly copy of Inaba's shopping district.

In front of us stood the falsely heroic figure of Shadow Junpei, a heavily-armoured menace with a face of flames and a giant golden axe.

We stood opposite him, Junpei having just saved Souji from being set ablaze.

Junpei cast his Persona card out in front of him, "**PERSONAAAA!**" he screamed, shattering the card with a horizontal swing of his baseball bat.

Junpei's Persona manifested. It appeared to be a man in some sort of a royal blue jumpsuit lined with white, with matching boots and spike-knuckled gauntlets. He had a blue visor-equipped helmet which made him look similar to the heroes of _Featherman R_. He would almost pass as a human if his visor wasn't outrageously oversized, as the sides of the visor protruded far passed his head. On his back were large silver wings that seemingly split into individual spikes. His utility belt was equipped with a submachine gun and an odd hilt-like item. The Persona stuck its fist to the skies and a flash of fire erupted, igniting its visor and wings.

"Alright, **Hermes!**" called Junpei, "We're not gonna _fight_ him – we're gonna kick his ass!"

The apparition nodded and drew the odd item from its utility belt. Holding it in his hand, a wide blue laser spawned from it, stopping at about four feet from the hilt. _Oh, _that's_ what it is... _

The heroic figure of Hermes dashed toward the target, launching himself from the ground with a force that shook the concrete under our feet. "Come and get some!" the Shadow screamed as it stared down the Persona which was heading straight for its head. The lightsaber was stopped by Shadow Junpei's axe, but after a brief struggle, Hermes swung himself underneath the blade, taking the chance to strike the Shadow's helmet. Slash after slash, the laser blade sent sparks out as it left burn marks on the flawlessly white armour, before the Persona disappeared. The Shadow shook its head and stared in Junpei's direction. "Is that all you've _got?_"

"As cool as that was," I said, "That didn't seem to do much to him. We need a plan."

"How's he been so far?" asked Junpei, idly twirling his bat.

I turned my eyes to Souji, who seemed to be distracted by something. "No time to talk, you two!"

I shifted my attention to the Shadow, which raised its empty hand, creating some sort of ray of light. The light was drawing in pieces of metal from all sorts of objects. Parked cars flew toward it, store signs shook loose, street lights came right off the ground. I felt a force tug at my left arm, and I realized that my wrench was being pulled away. Not wanting to get dragged toward the Shadow, I let go, sending it into the light along with Souji's golf club. "What's it trying to do?" asked a frightened Junpei.

Every object it gathered had lit up into an orange glow, as if the Shadow was somehow smelting it all. The pieces returned to normal, now matching the Shadow's armour. Pieces latched onto his axe, transforming it into a sword that was at least four feet wide. Smaller bits surrounded his legs, reinforcing them as to prevent us from injuring them again. The larger pieces from the cars flew around to his back, creating something that I couldn't see from where I was. Its helmet developed a faceplate, hiding all but its fiery eyes.

"Be careful," warned Teddie, far away from the battle, "The Shadow looks capable of things we haven't seen yet!"

The Shadow directed the palm of his empty hand at us, revealing a hollow circle that began to light up. **"LOOK OUT!"**

A massive _**BOOM**_ shook the world as I landed hard on my right shoulder. I raised my dizzied head, seeing fire across the newly-cracked concrete where we had been standing. Dust floated down from the air as I heard my friends coughing. To my right I caught a blurry image of the Shadow launching himself from the ground in controlled flight. Apparently, the object he created on his back was some sort of jet pack.

Souji gave a pained "Get up!" from across the street.

"Seems this arm's out of commission," I groaned, noticing that I could hardly feel my right arm. I lifted myself from the ground with the opposite before turning my eyes to Souji, who was limping toward Junpei.

Souji got Junpei onto his feet with ease. "Well, whaddya we do now!" Junpei coughed angrily, seeing that our enemy was now out of range. The Shadow was hovering at about forty feet in the air, waiting for us to make our move.

"It'll take a lot of energy to send your Personas that far," informed Teddie, thankfully unharmed from the blast, "Use your abilities sparingly."

Souji dusted himself off and asked, "What do you mean, 'a lot of energy'?"

Teddie cleared his throat before explaining, "You might not have felt it yet,but if you use your Persona constantly, your mind will need a break. I call the power used to summon your Persona '_spirit energy'._ If you do run out, just grin and bear it!"

"Great," Junpei sighed, "Not exactly the best time to tell us about that."

"No," Souji answered, "He just did us a huge favour. We gotta take that info into consideration."

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"Same as earlier," answered Souji, "We'll just prod the Shadow one at a time until we find the right place to attack it."

I agreed. "Alright, let's get onto one of the rooftops and we'll hit him from there."

We began to run toward where the Shadow was afloat, but Souji began to fall behind. "Damn leg," he groaned "Guess I won't be running any time soon."

Using Shui-Jing, I manipulated the wind to lightly bring the three of us onto a nearby rooftop, where Shadow Junpei stared us down hungrily. "Taking in Teddie's advice, we should attack him one at a time to conserve our... _spirit energy_, or whatever."

Souji turned to to us. "Ketsui, you move first, then Junpei. I'll go after."

"Got it," we simultaneously affirmed.

I held the Shui-Jing card between my two hands and took a breath, noticing that the Shadow was giving me a chance to attack it. Determined to take him back down to the ground, I ripped the card in half, bringing the robed sage to existence.

The sage was met with the Shadow's gigantic blade, which was about to be swung. The Shadow taunted, "Have a taste of the _**HEAT WAVE!"**_ before the blade was brought down, sending out a thick wave of flames in Shui-Jing's direction. I reacted by having my Persona use the force of its wind to push itself out of the way of the fire, which disappeared after travelling about twenty feet.

"No dice," I sighed, calling Shui-Jing back, "Junpei, try something else."

"Let's go!" said an excited Junpei, stomping his Persona card. The tight-suited Hermes appeared from nowhere. **"Agi!**" The tokatsu hero drew the submachine gun from its belt before launching into flight. It circled the threatening knight in great speed as it sprayed blazing bullets from its weapon. They sped toward the Shadow's shining chest plate, but they hardly scratched the surface.

Shadow Junpei didn't even flinch or resist. It just laughed, taunting us, "Shoot me again, _I ain't dead yet!_"

"Looks like fire doesn't work on it," said Souji, "It's just like how Ketsui's Shadow resisted his wind attacks."

"Damn!" cursed Junpei as his Persona vanished from the sky.

Souji took a step forward, saying, "It's my turn," shattering the card in his palm. The Shinto deity challenged the Shadow with a premature swing of its blade. Izanagi initially attacked the knight head-on, before swooping around his unarmed hand, slashing the Shadow in the back. I spotted the Shadow lower itself in the sky before easily recovering, and I knew where we'd hit him next.

"The jet pack," I breathed, "We gotta destroy his jet pack!"

"Alright," responded Junpei, "How should we do that?"

"We can't just use our Personas," added Souji, "He'll catch onto our strategy and keep us at bay with that sword of his."

Junpei looked to the ground, before exclaiming, "I got it!" We leaned in to hear his strategy. "I've still got this bat. Ketsui, you can use your wind to launch me onto that thing's back and I'll smash it. I doubt he can grab me from there. If he shakes me off, I'll get Hermes to catch me. All you and Souji have to do is keep him busy!"

I quickly disapproved, saying, "That's crazy, he'll just throw you off!"

"But it's all we've got," Souji answered. "I'm up for it."

I looked at the two of them, waiting for a change of mind. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Let's do it!" said Junpei, "Lemme at him!"

After a minute of preparation, Junpei got a running start before he jumped from the rooftop, caught just in time by the wind summoned by Shui-Jing. Now at a fast enough speed to catch the Shadow by surprise, Hermes was summoned, which flew Junpei over the Shadow's head, dropping him in time for Junpei to grab the back of the Shadow's helmet, before he lowered himself onto what I hoped was the jet pack.

"What the..! Get _OFF!_" The Shadow began to turn himself frantically, trying to find what had just dropped onto him. He turned around fully, allowing us to see that Junpei was hanging from a rigid slit in the back of the Shadow's armour, and was already bashing the jet pack with his bat.

Souji summoned his Persona while I wasn't looking, and Izanagi quickly found its way in front of the Shadow. It struck several armoured joints before it got the Shadow's attention. The Shadow raised its claymore, and Souji reacted by making Izanagi block with its long weapon. The sword came down upon Izanagi's blade, slashing it in half. Souji grunted, seemingly in frustration, while the Shadow began to laugh maniacally. On a positive note, pieces of metal were falling from behind the Shadow, indicating that Junpei was making progress.

Taking my queue, I sent Shui-Jing to keep the Shadow's attention, dodging several small blasts from the explosive cannon it had attacked us with earlier. I brought Shui-Jing's halberd into the small slit that existed between the Shadow's helmet and armour. It struggled before Shui-Jing disappeared, revealing a possible weak point.

"I've almost got it!" called Junpei from a distance, "Keep at it, guys!"

Izanagi appeared in an instant, delivering bolts of lightning onto the Shadow's cannon arm in an attempt to disable it, to no avail. I was angered, as that cannon was the only part of the Shadow which I had feared.

I sent Shui-Jing dashing through the sky, driving its halberd under the Shadow's helmet. "Get OUTTA MY _FACE!_" the Shadow screamed in aggravation, before violently snatching Shui-Jing with its cannon hand. I felt something pierce the inside of my mind as my Persona struggled against Shadow Junpei's tight grip. Seconds later, it unleashed its fire onto Shui-Jing, point blank, striking me with a sudden headache.

"**I can't **_**take**_** it!**" were the only intelligible words that came from my mouth as I screamed in agony, hitting the ground with my knees. My ears rang and my vision went blurry. **"Make it STOP!**" Souji rushed to my side. "I-I'm fine!" I lied, "Help Junpei, dammit!"

Souji nodded and summoned Izanagi once again, which provided distracting slashes across the Shadow's chest as it dodged his oversized sword and cannon shots.

After a few minutes, the pain vanished, and I was no longer breathing a hundred times per minute.

"You can't let your Persona get hurt," called Teddie, from a far roof, "Ketsui probably won't be able to use his Persona for some time, but he'll recover soon."

"I... I can still help," my voice was shaken as I summoned Shui-Jing's card in my hand. "I'm not letting these freaks put me through that again!" I tried to crush it within my palm, but it just flashed, causing me to question my power. "Break... Break, dammit! We _need_ you!"

Teddie's voice came back, saying "Give yourself a minute before you try to summon him again!"

I dropped to my hands, hoping that he was right. I looked up to see that Junpei was close to success. Within minutes of Izanagi taking the Shadow head on, Junpei had destroyed its jet pack, as he fell from the Shadow and caught himself with his Persona, which flew him back to our rooftop, his bat now nothing but a piece of broken wood.

Pieces of the Shadow's armour were discarded from the sky as the tyrant lost control. All of the Shadow's weight fell onto its empty arm, hopefully rendering its cannon useless. The Shadow flinched and frenzied as it was sent crashing down the street – damaged, but not necessarily dead.

"That was insane!" cheered Junpei, "But how do we finish him off?"

My eyes darted around the empty streets, trying to find something we could use for victory. That's when I remembered that there was a water tower not far behind where we were. "This guy works with fire... If we could topple the water tower onto him, he'd be vulnerable to our attacks."

"But _where_ would he be vulnerable?"

"You saw him earlier," said Souji, "His neck is a definite weak spot."

"Okay, how do you intend for him to get there?" asked Souji, drawing the distance between the recovering Shadow and the water tower far behind us.

I took a look at my allies. Junpei was still catching his breath from his daredevil incident. Souji could hardly walk properly. It had to be me. "I know exactly what we can do. Let me explain..."

I found myself standing right in front of the Shadow, which was easily five times my height. It stared me down threateningly, bothered by its busted leg and lack of a jet pack. I nodded my head in its direction, "You want me, come and get me!"

The Shadow only growled in frustration when it began to chase me. I sprinted away from it, stopping occasionally to see it limp awkwardly, holding its titanic sword in the air, hoping for me to be close enough to crush. I rounded a corner and began running out of breath as I saw the water tower getting closer and closer. Shadow Junpei smashed the concrete behind me with its sword, shocking me into an adrenaline rush. In no time was I passed the tower, waiting for my friends to strike.

As the Shadow entered the target area, Junpei gave his own signal, **"IT'S ON!"**

At the start of a limp, Izanagi appeared, striking the Shadow's head, causing it to fall backward. Right on queue, the water tower dropped downward, breaking onto the Shadow's head.

Shadow Junpei let out several angry objections before Izanagi pinned its sword to the ground. I had since recovered from the earlier incident, being able to summon Shui-Jing to hold down its other arm. Hermes appeared on top of the Shadow's chest, instantly shoving its lightsaber into the Shadow's neck, before repeating the attack with urgency, vanishing as the suit of armour stopped resisting.

The three of us walked closer to the motionless body, seeing that the fire within had died. Its chest piece opened up and out came the human hand of Shadow Junpei. Its other hand appeared, holding what looked like a gun.

On reaction, I kicked the weapon out of its hand, before walking over to the gun and picking it up myself. It was some sort of revolver with a stainless steel finish. "I'll be taking this."

The Shadow raised an arm, but Junpei punched it in the face. bringing it down to the ground. "Stop trying to fight us," commanded Junpei, adopting a serious tone. "I understand you now." The Shadow stood toe to toe with its other half, seemingly unharmed from the earlier events. "I couldn't accept you before, but I get it. I can't keep lying to myself." Junpei's Shadow nodded as if wanting to hear his confession.

A moment of silence passed as everyone proudly looked up at the victorious Junpei.

"I act immature because I'm afraid of responsibility. I _have_ been living only for the fun in my life. And even if it pains me to say it, I came down here for the possibility of adventure, not simply for the sake of Saki-senpai. I still want to find her killer... but I know it won't bring her back."

The Shadow oddly traded fist bumps with Junpei, before it vanished into thin air and Junpei was at peace with himself.

"Good job, guys." said Souji, "We won."

"We make an awesome team!" was Junpei's excited response.

Teddie came walking to us, making squeaky noises on the way. "Great fight, guys!"

Junpei gave him an offended look. "H-hey, you know, you could've helped more!"

"Easy on the bear," I voiced, "His information came in useful." I began to roll my arm. "Seems my arm's healed up already."

Souji felt his bad leg. "That's weird. My leg seems better, too."

"It must be your Personas," explained Teddie, "They must make you naturally stronger."

"Let's figure that out later," I said, "We've got to get back. I bet Yukari's gone crazy wondering if we're okay."

I observed the ruins of the shopping district, the smell of crackling flames still fresh in the air. I took in a breath and started on my way back, Souji already a step ahead.


	11. Keeping Promises

**[A/N Alright, I am back with an update. Hell yeah._]_**

* * *

><p><em><em>I just helped destroy a giant knight mecha that could fly, wield a buster sword, and shoot exploding balls of fire.<em>_

__Three teenagers took it down with teamwork, persistence, strategic planning, and a whole lot of violence.__

__I was definitely not in the correct state to encounter ___her___ again. I ___was___, however, in the mood for some sushi.__

**Chapter 11: Keeping Promises**

The four of us began our walk from the battle with some degree of leisure. Teddie wouldn't stop talking about how amazing our victory was, Souji was still amazed at how insane Junpei's tactic was, and I was still trying to learn more about the weapon in my hand. While we walked, my foot hit something solid. I looked down at the ground, seeing a metal suitcase at my foot. I scanned my surroundings, noticing that it looked completely foreign in the copy-cat Shopping District. I leaned down and opened it up, revealing, to my surprise, "**MONEY!**"

"Wait, what?" asked Souji, who had walk passed me without noticing.

I reached into the briefcase and pulled out several Yen bells. "Dude, _money!_"

Junpei and Souji surrounded me as I counted out the bills. "Twenty-two, twenty-three... Twenty-four thousand!"

"Alright!" cheered Junpei, "These seem just like real bills."

I split it the money in three, leaving us each with eight thousand. "They _are_ real bills," I sighed in relief as I compared them to the cash I had in my wallet. "They've got every sign of authenticity!"

"I don't know where this came from," breathed Souji, "But I can't complain."

After we left the cloned Shopping District, Junpei was reflecting on what we had seen. "All those things we heard Senpai say..." his voice ran adrift, "It was all true, huh?"

I discovered where the safety switch on the revolver was as I said, "I guess so." I then popped out the cylinder, seeing that the weapon didn't actually have any rounds in it. I sighed and pocketed it in hopes of not being searched before getting home.

He sighed. "A pain in the ass, huh? I guess this is one way to find out. That was embarrassing."

"Teddie," Souji's voice came, "Could Konishi-san have been attacked by her Shadow in here? Like what happened with these two?"

The bear nodded. "I think so. All Shadows are originally born from humans. When a human refuses to face their Shadow, it draws lesser Shadows to it. This creates one very powerful entity which can kill the host."

"So Ketsui was right," replied Junpei, "When the fog arrives on our side, someone on this side gets attacked by their Shadow."

I heard something that boggled my interest. "Wait, wait... 'lesser shadows'? Like those Hablerie things that Souji fought when we first came in here?"

"Yes."

"So those aren't a particular human's Shadow, they're created from our imagination?"

The bear nodded before he moved his attention to the out-of-breath Junpei. "Junpei's pretty worn out. You humans aren't used to this world, so you shouldn't spend too much time here."

"I can agree to that," sighed Junpei.

Souji chimed in, "Hey, Teddie – The Shopping District and that creepy room... It's clear that they come from people who have entered this world. Do places like this appear often?"

"It's never happened before," Teddie answered, "But that's probably where their Shadows attacked them. I never know for sure because when the fog clears and the Shadows get violent, I have to hide. I've sensed people here twice before, but both of them disappeared once the fog lifted."

"Dammit," grunted Junpei, "Senpai and the reporter... They were here all alone, huh? No one was around to save them."

Teddie raised a hand, telling us, "They were safe _before_ the fog lifted. It seems the Shadows don't feel the need to attack while the fog's present. They did attack us, though."

"Maybe they can sense our power," I suggested, "Our Personas threaten them and they naturally want to attack. There was fog present while both Junpei and I had our Shadows attack us. Maybe they were afraid of Souji at first, and now since Junpei and I have Personas of our own, we're seen the same way."

"So basically, it's dangerous for us in here," added the grey-haired boy, "But if someone's life is at stake, we've got to try and rescue them."

"Wait, so if we reach the person before the fog lifts and the Shadows get angry," Junpei voiced, "We'll be able to rescue them? Like how you guys just rescued me?"

"Hey... I have a question," came Teddie's voice, "Shadows are born from humans, but... What was Teddie born from?"

"That's... quite a question," I answered, "But if you don't know the answer, we sure as hell don't."

The bear sighed. "I know a lot about this world, but nothing about myself. I never really thought about it until now."

"Strange," said Souji, "So that's why you had trouble explaining yourself."

Teddie looked deep in thought as he asked, "Will you guys... come back here?"

"We promised," answered Souji.

"I'll be waiting for you here," explained Teddie, "You will have to come in through the same place every time, or else you might end up somewhere else."

"Right," answered Junpei, "I doubt anyone's gonna buy that TV anyway."

Teddie tapped his foot to the floor and a stack of giant retro television monitors appeared in front of us in a cloud of smoke.

I felt the need to give the bear a good goodbye. "You did good today, Teddie. We'll see you soon. Hopefully we won't _have_ to, but we'll, y'know, visit."

I went through the screen first, finding myself flat on the ground in the electronics section once again. I looked up to find the concerned face of Yukari, just as we'd seen her last. I wondered how she felt about the rope breaking when she cried, "You guys came back!" She tackled me into the death-grip of a hug while Souji and Junpei appeared behind me.

"We _did_ say we'd be back," I joked, patting her on the back.

"Huh, Yukari?" asked Junpei, "What's going...?"

The teary-eyed girl released me when she saw Junpei. That's when I noticed that in her right hand was the remaining piece of rope that must have broken off when we crossed over. She narrowed her eyes before chucking the rope at Junpei's face, causing him to flinch with an audible grunt.

"I can't believe this!" Yukari yelled while haphazardly clearing the tears from her eyes, her other hand molded into a fist. "You idiots!"

"Wait, what? What's the matter" asked Junpei, apparently having forgotten our initial escape plan. Souji did the smart thing and stood idly by.

Her anger seemed to overtake her tears when she said, "'What's the matter'? The rope broke, and I was here all alone! You could've been dead, I was worried sick...!"

"Hey, hey," I half-assedly soothed, "Nothing to worry about, we're fine! Relax!"

She didn't seem to hear me, and she cut me off with "I hate you all!" before running away.

"Alright, that was definitely our fault," groaned Junpei, picking the rope up from the floor.

"Meh," I replied, "We can say sorry tomorrow."

Souji talked for the first time in a while. "Well, I'm going straight home."

"Me too," I replied, "Getting shot by a fiery cannon of death is really draining."

"Yeah man, I'm beat," sighed Junpei, "But I feel like I'm gonna sleep well tonight."

I figured that since I was at Junes, and I had this random cash bonus, I might as well have bought something. I left the store with some groceries, as well as a pair of weighted gloves and weighted anklets. I figured that if I was gonna be fighting monsters for the greater good, I might as well get in shape for it. With all the _Dragon Ball Z_ I'd watched, I had the idea that Piccolo couldn't have been wrong. If you always fight with handicaps, you'll be twice as powerful when you need to remove them.

On the way home, I walked through the Shopping District, which gave me an odd feeling of discomfort after having just fought a life-endangering battle in the area just an hour earlier. The rain was a bother, too. I knew that rain was a sign of fog, and fog had become a sign of death.

"Ketsui!" yelped a feminine voice from out of my sight. I turned my head to see the smile of Yumi, who was apparently really happy to see me. Who I apparently promised a date to. Who I really didn't feel like spending time with.

"Oh, uh, hey," I quietly replied, not entirely sure of what I was going to do.

"Did some shopping, huh?" she asked, peeking at the bags in my hand.

"Yeah, just – uh – doing my part, and all that."

"So, you busy?"

I wasn't gonna lie to her. "Not... exactly. I'm just heading home."

"Well," she said, and I knew what she'd say next, "You said we'd go out sometime soon." Her hands clasped together in front of her and she rocked back and forth, playfully. "I'm not busy, you're not busy..."

Deep down, I sighed. On the outside, I just smiled. "Sure, let's go somewhere."

Down the road, we came across the Marukyu Sushi restaurant. It was basically the best place in Inaba to get sushi. I knew the people there pretty well, so I usually didn't have to specify my order in more words than "the usual".

The two of us entered the small restaurant, where I was greeted by the nearly-elderly owner. "Good evening, Mrs. Marukyu."

The lady nodded happily, chuckling as she said "I see Ketsui has a date today! Ahah!"

"Guilty as charged," I replied, "Two servings of the usual, please."

I took my seat, with Yumi across the table. "I've only eaten here maybe four times," said Yumi, "It'd be a nice change from my mom's stuff. What's 'the usual'?"

I looked up at her with a grin. "Dragon roll. You ever try it?"

"Can't say I have."

"You'll love it. Everybody does."

"You seem to know these people pretty well," said Yumi as she tilted her head to the side, "I mean, considering you have a 'usual'."

I answered, "One of the cooks here is a friend of mine. Basically got me addicted to the food here."

"I guess I can see how that can happen. So, what were you up to before I ran into you?"

Well, I was totally gonna tell her about fighting giant mechas and having my best friend face his shameful half. Yeah, that made sense. "Yukari, Junpei and I just took the new guy around town. Show him around, y'know."

"Ah, I see."

"Yeah, it wasn't anything too special. How about you?"

"Just did some stuff with the drama club and hung around with the girls. Usual stuff."

Keeping an eye out for the paranormal, I asked, "You hear anything superstitious lately?"

"Aside from that Midnight Channel stuff, nothing really. Why do you ask?"

I just _had _to ask. Well, luckily I had some good cover. "Well, it's just that Junpei's been pretty down about Saki Konishi's death. I just don't want him to hear any superstitious garbage being spread around the school. It might set him off, y'know?"

"It's nice to know you're looking out for your friends like that. I didn't know Konishi-san very well myself."

Not long after, the cook himself came out with our meals – an action that was uncommon, but the restaurant was dead and we hadn't talked for a while. I looked up for that familiarly glazed pair of eyes. "Order up," came the quiet, low voice of the cook. His dark hair was easily visible underneath the chef's cap he had on. We hardly got to see his actual hair, since when he wasn't working, he always wore a toque, regardless of the weather. He was also very built. Seeing someone six feet tall and as big as he is wearing an apron is always a new experience. Shinjiro always managed to look scruffy as hell, but no one who mattered really minded.

"Thanks. How've you been, senpai?"

"Bored," he abruptly answered, "The restaurant hasn't been getting much business, so I've actually been going to school more often. Weird, huh?"

He _did_ skip quite often. "Oh, this is Yumi Ozawa. Yumi, meet Shinjiro Aragaki. You might have seen him around school, but, well, I doubt it."

"Umm, nice to meet you, Aragaki-san," Yumi nervously greeted as she bowed.

"You too," he replied, "...You two on a date?"

My eyes moved from Shinjiro, to Yumi, then back. "Yeah," I answered, not sounding too enthusiastic, "Hey, how's that biker gang thing going?"

Shinjiro cleared his throat before saying, "They disappeared for a bit, but they've been making noise again recently. Aki said he'll help me track them down. I swear, when we find them..."

"Sounds like fun," I chuckled, "Let me know when it happens."

"I'll make sure I do," he answered, before glancing at Yumi, "I'll give you two some privacy."

He exited back into the kitchen and Yumi asked, "Does he really go to Yasogami High?"

"Yeah. He just prefers to stay here and help out at the restaurant. Surprisingly, his grades are fine."

"Strange. What was that about a biker gang?"

"Well, apparently there's been some biker gang running around, causing a ruckus at night. Now usually no one would pay any mind to them, but apparently Mrs. Marukyu has been losing sleep over it. Shinjiro, being protective as he is, wants to get out there and make sure that they don't come down this street ever again."

"Does he really care that much for his boss?"

"She's more than his boss," I answered, "Shinjiro was from an orphanage. She adopted him when he was maybe twelve years old. He feels like he owes his life to her."

"Wow, they must have a really strong connection." I answered with a nod as I grabbed my first shrimp-filled roll. She did the same. _Chew, chew, chew... _"So, I saw you walking with Ryo this morning..." _Swallow._

"Uh, yeah, I saw her this morning. What about it?"

"Well, I was just wondering... Why do I never see you two never talk when we're in school?"

_She doesn't know?_ "Guess you never heard, huh? That's a surprise. Most of the Yasogami kids and even their parents know the story already."

Yumi finished the roll before saying, "Colour me interested! Tell me everything."

I sighed. "Well, there's probably a few inaccurate versions of the story, so I might as well give it to you straight. Our first date was literally four days into our first year of high school. I met her through Yukari, we hit it off, and I just thought 'how did I _not_ meet this girl earlier?' Naturally, I asked her out, and we had some real fun. Not sure how to describe it, but damn, Rio and I were passionate. Definitely the most exciting relationship I've had. She got along with my family, too. I talked with her mom a bit, but her father wasn't too welcoming of me."

"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun," said Yumi, "How did you end up splitting?"

"Skipping the minor details, we're at her house two months later, just doing homework like usual. We finish up and she kisses me, which is nothing new, really. But at this point I'm a fifteen-year-old teenager. I guess it's safe to say that I naturally lost it. I kick it up a notch and we, well, we kind of make out." I stopped to remember how heated it had gotten that day. They say love should give a feeling of urgency. I definitely felt that. "Next thing you know, I trip onto her bed and she follows. I get sort of touchy-feely and Rio seems to like it, so clothes start coming off. She grabs for my belt and I'm about to reach around to her back, when we hear the door open." Yumi, really into the story, gasped in anxiety. "So here we are, two half-naked teenagers on a bed, turning our heads in shock, seeing Rio's dad in the doorway."

Yumi's eyes widened. "What happened then?"

"Well, he starts yelling, like 'get off my daughter' and 'get the hell out of my house,' so I grab my stuff and run out of there. He follows me out, telling me to stay away from Rio. Of course, he later asked all the neighbours to tell him if they saw us together. We meet up to talk, and he somehow finds out. The guy's got all her tuition fees in a bank account, and says to her that if she's with me, she's never gonna go to college."

The girl's hands tightened on her chopsticks. "How could he do that..?"

"Yeah. Since then, Rio and I've just become friends. We talk sometimes, but if we're in public, we always have to make it look like we're complete strangers." My hand landed on the table. "I mean, we're over it, but..." I just sighed.

I picked up another shrimp roll and I looked up, seeing that Yumi had tears in her eyes. "I... I'm sorry."

I raised a brow. "For what?"

"What I said the other day, 'I bet you're not over Iwasaki-san.' I didn't know that you two... That's just so..."

This was a surprise. I rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay."

"It's not okay," she looked up, determination in her eyes. "That's not fair. You two should be together."

"That's how I felt, too," I sighed, leaning back in my chair, "But we've worked so hard just to become comfortable as friends. I wouldn't want to ruin that by bringing up romance again."

She laid a hand on mine. "But what if _she_ feels that way, too?"

...

"Now that you mention it..."

..._Wow_

"N-no. It's too late for that. We've moved on."

Yumi's eyes softened. "Whatever you say."

We just ate for a bit in silence, before she said, "I still want you two to be together again. That means no more dates like this, okay?"

"Hey," I replied, "_You_ asked _me_ out."

She giggled. "Good point. We can still hang out, though, right?"

"Right. You and I are friends. That's all we need to be."


	12. Worries

**[A/N Wow, so... There's a lot of reviews this time around! Time for replies._]_**

**Kuoffnet  
><strong>Not really gonna say much about the turnout of the characters, but there'll be some... oddities. I'm actually unsure of whether I should include Natsuki. Might give her a minor appearance or mention, but not much other than that. Oh – she'll definitely be there when they're investigating Fuuka. No characters from the original P4 investigation team (other than Souji and Teddie) will be appearing. Some supporting characters from P3 (as evident with Rio) will be around. Also, one of these minor characters will be on the Investigation Team (no, not Rio). But who? MUHUHUHAHAHAH! And yeah, a lot of the P3 characters really do fit the P4 roles. Especially with Yukiko and Mitsuru. The "family business" girls.

**RaidEye  
><strong>Glad to see you're on board for the future of this story! I know the P3/P4 relations are a little bit heavy, especially in the beginning, but I'll find flexibility later on. Their origin stories are really hard to tune as they have to fit into the overall plot of P4 without changing the character's original backstory too much. For one point, every character in the Investigation Team has to appear on television. Now Fuuka isn't exactly Risette – and Aigis isn't exactly a child detective. Oh, and Aigis is an interesting subject. I can't have her be a military superweapon or something, so her story isn't very close to her P3 origins. Most of her story is completely original, but I'm trying to keep it similar to her P3 role as "the girl who doesn't understand what humanity is."  
>Nah, Ketsui isn't based on the P3 protagonist at all. He's just an OC that I made for a different story that I ended up scrapping. I didn't want to tell P4FtS through Souji's perspective, so I used him here.<p>

**Fervour  
><strong>As corny as it sounds, I value your opinions, even if it clashes with some of mine. The review system is the only way for me to get feedback, so please, tell me whatever you want to, even if you think it may offend me.  
>Yeah, I tried to make Teddie explain some of the Shadow factors, and it probably did take away from the Shadow Ketsui fight. I just want Teddie to be more useful in this story. However, I didn't notice that he was sounding really serious and tutor-like, so I'll make sure he's funnier or more lighthearted in future chapters. I'm pretty sure inflation of the Yen was the last thing on the guys' minds – and they didn't question it because, hey, you'd want some compensation for kicking Shadow ass as well, right?<br>Yes, Shinjiro is very much like Kanji in that he's a great cook while Kanji is a textile expert. You'll see what I do with the characters when the time comes. I actually didn't plan on Kenji's existence in the story. At all. He's just not a very interesting character in my eyes. However, I'll take that into consideration and may make some changes.  
>Fuuka's backstory will not involve modelling or being a celebrity. Just to confirm.<br>Koromaru will be in the story and will help the team fight Shadows, but... in his own way. He also won't have a Shadow.

**Short chapter this time, but this day isn't exactly full of explosions anyway.**

* * *

><p><em><em>We had been through a lot in the past few days.<em>_

__I wasn't entirely sure when we'd get our next piece of action.__

__I just hoped it wouldn't be any time soon.__

**Chapter 12: Worries**

After Yumi and I said our goodbyes, I headed straight home with much on my mind. _Could Rio have thought the same way I did? There's no way... Is there?_

I entered the house thankful for the dryness of the indoors. Turning sight, I spotted the evening news on, with a coffee mug on the table. Ken turned around, asking, "Where've you been?"

I answered simply with, "Had sushi."

The boy took a sip. "With who?"

I shrugged. "Is it that important?"

Ken raised a brow. "So a girl then." Bullseye. Smart kid.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "Like I said, it's not important."

I ended up spending about half an hour on my computer compiling all of the information we had on the TV world, the Shadows, and the Personas into a text file. I included facts, descriptions of the Shadows of Junpei and I, speculations on the culprit, and things that were unknown to us, such as what Teddie came from. I e-mailed it to Junpei and Yukari before attempting to rest.

That night, I could hardly sleep. The rain continuously tapped my window, and it was indescribably distracting. After rolling around in bed for what felt like hours, my phone emitted a ping. I snatched it from the nearby table, finding a text from Junpei. "11:58. Check your TV!"

I wiped my dry eyes and noticed that there really was only two minutes to midnight. The rain was obviously still there, keeping me awake. I took in a deep breath and faced the TV.

The sound of signal static was released from the blank TV as it lit up. A silhouette materialized, its face hidden by the fuzzy imagery. All I could tell was that it was a girl and she was wearing some sort of a robe, like a kimono. I squinted my eyes, trying to make out more details.

I looked at my hand. _Could I...?_ Stepping closer to the screen, I pushed my hand into it. My hand disappeared into the screen, but the girl was gone. I audibly sighed before returning to bed, hopefully finding slumber.

I can't say I really did.

The morning of April 16th shed a little light on my eyes. That being because it actually _wasn't_ raining.

I strolled along the Samegawa Flood Plain, appreciating how the sun lit up the short trees and swaying grass. Half-asleep, I yawned and spotted a grey-haired head not far ahead of me. I caught up to the figure as it greeted me with a, "Good morning."

I stretched a sore arm forward, replying with, "Damn right it's good."

Souji chuckled. "Appreciate it while you can. Forecast says it's raining later."

I rolled an arm. "Figures."

A bell rung behind us, grabbing our attention. "Yo!" called Junpei, stopping his bike no farther than a foot from us. Unlike me, he seemed full of energy. "You saw what was on last night, right?"

"I couldn't tell who it was," answered Souji, sounding almost disappointed in himself.

"Me neither," claimed Junpei. "Ketsui, good call on documenting everything."

I yawned. "...What?"

"You know," said Junpei, "The file you sent us."

"Oh yeah, how could I forget?"

"What file?" asked Souji.

"Oh, give me your e-mail address and I'll show you. I threw all our information on the TV world into a text document."

Souji nodded. "We should go _there_ after school. Hopefully Teddie has some information on that girl."

"Yeah, if someone's in there again, we can't let 'em die," I voiced, "If that's the case, then we've got to find who's responsible."

Junpei scratched the short hair under his cap, before he reasoned, "Why can't we let the police deal with the guy?"

I scoffed. "The police won't be able to handle this. They wouldn't believe that there's a murderer that kills people with a world within the TV. Even if we brought cops down there, they'd all have to face their Shadows."

"We're teenagers and your guys' Shadows were incredible powerful," Souji reasoned, "Imagine how many conflicting thoughts lie in the mind of someone who's forty. It has to be us," said Souji.

Junpei sighed at first, but after a second, he raised his head with, "I agree."

At that moment, I realized that I forgot to tell Souji something. "Y'know, I stuck my hand in the TV last night, just like you did, and it worked."

Junpei seemingly flinched. "Same here!"

I rubbed my chin in a genius-like manner. "Must be because we have our Personas."

Souji thought for a moment. "...But I didn't gain my Persona until we were inside the TV."

"...Maybe you were given that power," I said in determination, "So that we could solve this case and save these people."

Junpei laughed. "Well in that case, let's do our best!" He looked up at Souji. "Whaddya think, Captain?"

Souji held a smile. "Let's make it happen."

We made our way into the school, and I exchanged glances with Yumi, who nodded at me with a smile. I wasn't entirely sure of what she thought of me at that point, but it was relieving to know that she no longer wanted a date.

We gathered into our usual segment of the classroom when the door slid open, revealing Yukari. Judging by how frantically her eyes were moving, she was looking for something.

"Oh, Yukari," I voiced, "We're sorry for yesterday."

The girl easily accepted the apology, saying "Oh, forget about that. Have you guys seen Mitsuru?"

Souji looked up in thought. "Kirijo-san? No, I haven't seen her around today."

Yukari looked to the side. "If what you told me was true, then..." she sighed in worry.

I woke up. "Wait, you don't think that...?"

"That person on the Midnight Channel was Mitsuru," she completed my question with the answer. "That kimono looks like the one she wears at the inn, and she wore it during the interview a few days ago, too."

_Interview? _"What interview?"

Souji explained, "The other day, some reporters asked about Mayumi Yamano's presence at the Kirijo Inn. They also mentioned Mitsuru-san taking her mother's place as the inn's owner in the future."

"Yeah," continued Yukari, "I got worried, so I called her last night, and she didn't answer. I called her earlier in the evening, though, and she said she'd be at school today. I just... I..."

"You haven't heard from her since?" Junpei asked.

"...No."

_No way Mitsuru was kidnapped. No way. _"W-wait, we can't just assume that she's in there. Try calling her again."

Our group stayed completely silent as the tones played. Once, twice... three times.

"She's not answering..."

"So, Mitsuru-san is inside that place?" Junpei asked. "Why would the killer target _her?"_

Yukari's voice darted. "No! That's not... She must be busy with something. You know, like an errand or something...!"

"Hey," I grabbed her attention, "She might be helping out at the inn. She doesn't use her phone while she's working, right?"

"That must be it!" Yukari exclaimed, locating the inn's number on her phone. "C'mon, Mitsuru, pick up..."

"Mitsuru!" her voice gasped in relief before she walked off to have a girly chat. She returned after a minute, telling us, "She was over at the inn. Apparently they had a big group reservation and she had to help out." She closed her eyes in satisfaction. "Now that I think about it, this kind of thing as happened before. She said she'd be there tomorrow, too."

She attacked me with her voice, "Ketsui, your stupid e-mail got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine!"

"I'm sorry... But there _was _a reason for that assumption."

"Huh?"

Souji took over. "We thought that when a person shows up on the Midnight Channel, they're already on the other side. It made sense: People would show up on the TV because they were _in _the TV. But since she's still here, that brings up more questions."

I sighed in discomfort. "Yeah, let's ask Teddie."

"Alright," said Junpei, "We'll meet up at Junes after school. That sound good?"

The four of us arrived at the electronics department of Junes, which was oddly busy at the time. I turned to Junpei, asking him, "Why are there so many customers?"

Junpei sighed. "I forgot, there's an electronics sale going on."

I spotted a couple looking at monitors across from where our TV was. "Alright, well... Souji, stick your hand in and try to signal Teddie to get over here. We'll make sure no one sees you."

Souji did as instructed as Junpei, Yukari and I stood around him. A few seconds later, he flinched and drew his hand back.

"What's wrong?" Junpei asked, almost panicking already.

I scanned over the top of his hand. "What is that, a bite mark?"

Souji said, "I'm fine," calmly as ever. "Must have been Teddie."

Yukari leaned toward the TV and whispered, "Hey, bear, we know you're in there."

Ripples in the screen were visible as the bear excitedly answered, "Oh, oh, is this a game?"

Junpei sighed. "Can you sense anyone inside there right now?"

"I'm a lonely little bear, like always," his voice replied, "This land feel so... bear-ren."

"Clever," I chuckled, "So you're sure that there's no one inside?"

"I'm not lying!" answered the bear, "My nose is as good as ever, and I definitely don't smell anyone."

"Alright," said Yukari, "Thanks, Teddie."

Souji turned to her. "I want you to warn Kirijo-san, anyway."

"Okay," she answered, "I'll walk her to school on Monday, too."

"If it's still raining again tonight, we oughta check out the Midnight Channel," stated Junpei.

"Souji, give us your number. We gotta stay connected," I explained, "Oh, and I need your e-mail, too."

We all exchanged numbers with Souji before calling it a day.

When I got home, Ken was reading the paper. "Can you believe that they still haven't found anything on those two deaths?"

I sighed. "Yeah, it's really depressing, huh?"

He discarded an orange jacket before flicking the TV on. "How skilled can a murderer be that they can't even pinpoint the cause of death?"

Knowing the truth, I didn't want him worrying about that. "Don't think too much about that crap, man. That kind of stuff keeps people up at night."


	13. Reasons to Fight

**[A/N With the "time to explain everything" intro out of the way, we're finally getting into the good stuff. Also, this chapter's a lot longer than most - just me making up for the length of that last chapter.]**

**Fervour: **As awesome as a dog shopkeeper sounds, Koromaru will be participating inside the actual Midnight Channel battles. Though that's all I'll say. Also, yes, cleavage is never a bad thing. Especially when it's Mitsuru's. Let's hope I can keep it within the T rating.

**Cstan: **I'm planning on Ketsui being more of a right-hand man to Souji, however still being a leader in his own sense. As the team grows, they'll have enough members for two parties. (In the game, you could run into uncontrolled party members in lower floors) Who do you think will be leading that second party? Oh yeah. Ah, no need to apologize for any assumptions made on the story. That just means I wasn't doing good enough of a job. In my defence, it's difficult to try and divert from the original story without changing things too much.

* * *

><p><em><em>The next victim happened to be someone very important to me.<em>_

__I wasn't about to pass up this opportunity, and neither were my friends.__

__We weren't gonna let another person die. Not now. Not ever.__

**Chapter 13: Reasons to Fight**

I had that otherworldly gun stashed in a little locked box that contained other personal items. It's not like I had "entertainment" in there, just trinkets and other items that had sentimental value to me; a pair of old broken headphones that I had worn for about three years straight, instructions to a Wing Gundam Zero model that now sat on Ken's nightstand, a cellphone trinket of some sort of chibi mascot given to me by Yukari a few years ago – that sort of thing.

Using the great power of the internet, I learned more about the gun from the Shadow realm. It didn't seem to be based on any particular weapon model, especially since there was no information etched into the metal. I learned that it was double-action, so its cylinder would automatically rotate when fired. Judging from the chamber size, it was fitted for a small calibre round. Not that it mattered, as I wasn't exactly in a position to get my hands on ammunition.

The clock was nearing the witching hour, and the rain was definitely present. I slid across the room in my office chair, facing the blank screen. It was 11:59, and every second was filled with anticipation. I stared through the eyes of my reflection as I prayed that Mitsuru wouldn't be the one inside the TV.

The screen emitted static, and my attention was focused on the figure that slowly appeared. **"Attention, viewers!"** greeted a familiar voice. I blinked twice to make sure that I knew what I was looking at. Onscreen stood a woman, appearing crystal clear. Strong posture, flowing red hair, hand on her hip, a voluptuous figure... It was definitely Mitsuru. I blinked again. She was wearing some sort of a black military dress uniform, adorned with various ribbons to match the Medal of Honour hung around her upright neck. Speaking of her neck, just below it was a complete lack of buttoning, revealing the top of her shapely _accessories_ as she subtly leaned forward. Normally I would've been very happy about this, but I was quite startled, for obvious reasons. Thin snowflakes floated idly in the air, partially hiding the stern, confident expression on her face. Under her chin was a microphone, into which she announced, **"This is General Mitsuru Kirijo, and I want **_**you**_** to fight for the future!"**

I leaned forward. "Whaaaaat?"

The camera backed up, and I saw that she was on a stage, speaking at some sort of podium. **"Under my command, we will build the ultimate empire! We will triumph across the universe and **_**back!"**_ The cameras cut to shots of Shadows mining, humanoid monsters training with rifles, and machine-like creatures tuning tanks as she explained, **"Each and every one of you must play a part in our expansion. We must build up our resources if we are to obtain absolute victory!"**

The screen cut to a sky-high view of what appeared to be a giant metallic military base surrounded by white mountains. A jet launched from a runway, passing by a giant ice tower that protruded from the centre of the building. **"This is the start of the Kirijo Empire, where we will show the world who is really in charge!" **She turned from the camera, continuing her speech. **"If you are not with me, you are against me.**" She turned around, pistol in hand. **"And if you're against me..."** she aimed at me through the screen, **"I'LL EXECUTE YOU!"** Her weapon fired as the image disappeared, engulfed by the black once again.

"Mitsuru!" I called as I dipped my arm into the screen, hoping for some sign of communication. It felt like I'd stuck my hand into a refrigerator, so I retracted my arm, thinking that I might be able to see the other side. I grabbed either side of the monitor and entered with my head. My eyes flinched as they were struck by bits of snow, and I realized that I was looking at the outside of the base that was onscreen earlier. Not wanting to catch a cold, I pulled out and grabbed my phone, sending a call to Souji.

He answered instantly, "Hello?"

"Did you see that just now?"

"Yeah," he replied, "But what was it?"

"Well, it was definitely Mitsuru. She even said her name! But there's something wrong, that person didn't seem like her at all!"

"And the broadcast looked like a low-budget TV show. That's new."

"Man..." I sighed, "What is going _on?"_

Souji stayed quiet for a moment. "Have you tried calling her?"

_ Call her? Why didn't _I_ think of that? _"Crap, you're right, I should've done that right away. Give me a sec."

I smashed the buttons on my phone rapidly to locate Mitsuru's name on the contact list. I set the phone to my ear in hopes that she'd answer. _"...Beep...Beep...Beep..._The number you have reached-_Beep_"

"Shit!" I called Souji back with the bad news. "No answer..."

"Damn... Listen, it's Sunday, so let's meet up first thing in the morning. Tell the others for me."

I cleared my throat, mostly in nervousness. "Will do."

After I sent Yukari and Junpei a text for the meeting, I attempted to sleep. I was so confused about what I saw that sleep wasn't coming easily. My mind ran through idle thoughts, eventually asking about why Souji's Persona was named after a Shinto God. I jumped back into my chair and flipped up my laptop, having an idea that could occupy some time. After some quick internet searches, I discovered that Izanagi isn't the only one of our Personas that seemed to be inspired by mythology and ancient history. Junpei's Persona, Hermes, is an Olympian God in Greek mythology who was tasked with sending messages from the Gods to the mortal realm. The name of my Persona, Shui-Jing, translates into "water mirror" in Chinese. The name Shui-Jing was one of the names of Sima Hui, a hermit from the Han Dynasty period. Apparently, he responded to everything positively, even going as far as saying "very good" when a man spoke of his son's death.

This made me remember the card. "XIV Temperance". I searched that up, finding that Temperance is the name of the fourteenth trump of a Tarot card deck. I didn't exactly know much about Tarot cards, other than the fact that it's used as a method of predicting someone's future. The card relates to the compromise between two seemingly incompatible forces. Acceptance of the opposite, basically.

_So... what?_ I scratched at my head. _Before I faced my Shadow, I wasn't able to create a connection between myself and something different? _The words of my Shadow must have been right. When this card is brought into the picture, it made sense. I was able to see how it applied to Shui-Jing as well. He replied to both the good and bad in the same sense, apparently seeing everything as one acceptable reality.

All of this learning had drained my brain, so at two in the morning, I was finally able to get some sleep.

I woke up after a measly six hours of sleep. That kind of sucked, but it _was_ a Sunday, which meant I didn't have to wear a uniform for once. I threw on a red, _oh-so-soft_ t-shirt and fitted myself with a pair of dark brown cargo pants, loaded up with pockets. I always had a need for numerous pockets, probably just for the sense of utility. The sun was up, but the breeze wouldn't agree, so I layered up with a black windbreaker. Since we were heading into the TV, I brought the revolver with me. Seeing as we found real-world money, and replications of a place that exists in our world, I figured I might come across some ammo for it.

I started creating a quick, makeshift breakfast that I could eat on the way to Junes when Ken came down the stairs. "You're up early," he commented.

"Yeaaah," I yawned, "Gotta meet up with some people."

My brother nonchalantly eyed the sandwich I'd assembled within half a minute before saying, "You seem busier than usual lately."

_Well, yeah. Monsters and murders can do that to a man. _"I guess so. Not a bad thing though," I replied, hopping into my runners, "Well, seeya later!"

I was halfway done my sandwich when I spotted a peculiar sight by the river. Standing on the dock – which was more or less a broken stone bridge – stood a red-haired girl in a frilly white dress. She had what looked like a sketchbook in her hands, which she was slowly filling in with a pencil. It was Chidori Konishi.

I glanced at my watch. I had time. I approached her at a slow pace, whistling a catchy tune, wondering if this would be a good idea. I mean, her sister _did_ just pass away. However, I was planning to bring justice to her killer. That would justify things, right? _Right._

"Kibo-san, right?" she asked, without even turning around. _What the hell? _Her voice was certainly something different. She sounded completely calm, almost like a lady of royalty.

"Uh... Yeah, that's me. How'd you know?"

"You always whistle that tune when you walk around," she answered. My eyes widened. "That's the melody to _Heartful Cry_ by Shoji Meguro_,_ correct?"

"That's very... observant of you, Konishi-san." I stepped up closer, trying to see her drawing without breathing down her neck. I ended up just paying attention to her hair, which was straight and fell down her chest. In her hair were several ruffled ribbons, matching a strange headpiece that simulated the appearance of a dagger running through her head.

"I see you are familiar with me," she replied, "Did you know my sister well?"

_Did she just ask that?_ _Well, I might as well answer honestly. _"Can't say I did. My friend Junpei – he was really close to her, though." I lowered my head. "She didn't deserve what she got."

The redhead lowered her head and stopped with her drawing. "She really didn't, did she?" I couldn't tell why, but something about her voice sounded irregular. Almost as if she was being dishonest. Like she was saying something she didn't believe.

I decided to change the subject. "Hey, how do you know so much about me?"

She returned to her art. "You've seen me before. I don't talk to many people, so a socialite as loud as yourself easily catches my attention."

I half scoffed, half laughed. "I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult."

She turned her head for the first time, inadvertently informing me that her porcelain skin had a face to match. "Well, take that as you will."

I caught a glimpse of her book. While the view in front of us was a bright shimmering stream, she had drawn a dreary, rocky, almost melted version of the terrain. Even in its darkness, it had piqued my interest. "Your drawing," I said, "Can I see it when it's finished?"

It didn't take long for her finely-tuned voice to answer. "Sure."

"Great," I replied, "I'll see you around, Chidori-san." I left with that, not sure of her impression of me. Usually I can tell how I had come off to someone, but she was extremely difficult to read. Wiping that off of my mind, I thought of the investigation ahead. We'd be avenging her sister. I couldn't leave the Konishi family without some closure. If we didn't catch the killer, they'd probably never find out who was responsible. I just _had_ to do this for them.

I arrived to find Souji at one of the outdoor tables. He was wearing a black jacket over some dark clothing and some sort of scarf. He might as well have been in uniform, because he was looking formal as hell. We greeted each other before we spotted Junpei, overdressed for the weather in a blue winter jacket, arrive with his hands behind his back.

"This'll be good," I joked. In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect.

"Sorry I'm late, guys!" he called, "But I found some stuff we could use." I raised a brow. "Take a look at _these!" _His arms swung out to the front, revealing a large katana in one hand and an aikuchi dagger in the other. "We've got our Personas, but since my Shadow ate your weapons and I broke my bat over it, we were left empty-handed." A coffee-sipping woman at a nearby table turned her head, confusion in her eyes. "So, which one strikes your fancy, 'Leader'?"

"Neither," Souji immediately answered, "I want the two of you to have weapons."

Junpei grinned. "See that? _That's_ why you're in charge!" He eyed the two weapons as he tried to decide. "As for me... The katana will do great. The weapon of a samurai, a true warrior!" He set the aikuchi on the table and assumed an unsteady pose, most likely learned from movies. "I can hit 'em like this...!" he exclaimed, swinging the sword around like a baseball bat. "Or maybe a little bit of _this!"_ Junpei displayed a number of improvised lunge attacks while the girl from the other table started to walk away.

I clapped, dully cheering, "Yeah, that'll teach those freaks to mess with us."

He continued his display of his vast knowledge of the weapon, comprised of a myriad of films and video games, while a man in uniform appeared in the corner of my eye, reporting, "Three suspicious young males found, armed with multiple weapons. Requesting immediate backup."

That caught our attention, bringing Souji and I from our seats as Junpei jumped into attention, holding the sword behind his back. "O-oh crap!" panicked Junpei, "No, no, no, this isn't what it looks like!" I turned to Souji, who shook his head in doubt. "We're just three ordinary kids who likes weapons, and..." Junpei turned to me, worry in his eyes. "That didn't come out right, huh?"

"Put the weapons down now," commanded the cop, "We'll listen to your story at the station." His hand reached for his baton. "Hands where I can see them, too! I said, _now!"_

"W-wait! This isn't..." Junpei did exactly as told, throwing his hands where they can be seen. With a katana in one. A katana that was being flailed in front of a cop.

The cop pulled out his baton and held it between Junpei and himself. "Are you resisting an officer of the law?" he asked, not sounding very professional, "Y-you're under arrest!" Within less then a minute, we were surrounded by two other cops. I didn't have much to say as we were taken to the precinct for questioning.

After some basic questioning, we were cleared to leave – but our weapons, including my Shadow gun, were confiscated. Luckily for us, we later found out from Junpei that they were just models, so their dullness could have endangered us in a fight later on, had we actually avoided arrest. Detective Dojima, Souji's uncle, made sure that we weren't given a criminal record for the incident.

On our way out, we were approached by Scruffy McScruffington, also known as Detective Dojima. "Kibo-san, is it? You can have this back." He handed me my revolver. "It feels so real, but it's got no real model code and it's not fit for any type of bullet. I don't know what it is or why you have that, but don't go waving it around."

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

He eyed Souji. "You didn't seem the type to pull a stupid stunt like this," he said, sounding very disappointed. "You three know what's been going on around town. We've got men stationed everywhere."

We half-assedly apologized as a pair of officers came walking passed. One asked, "Wait, so the one that disappeared is the Kirijo girl?" I turned my head, hoping to hear something useful. Souji did the same.

"Seems like it," replied the other officer, "But she's just a high schooler, y'know. Could be that she decided to run away from home."

"Did you hear that?" I asked my friends, "He said 'Kirijo'. Then did she really...?"

"Hm?" came Dojima's voice, before I could get an answer, "Who's what now?"

"Oh, it's nothing," answered Junpei. I really hoped that he wouldn't be talking to any police for the rest of the day.

"Well, you're free to go," replied Dojima, "But this better not happen again."

We walked into another detective, a younger man with black hair and a blue suit. I recognized him from the day that Mayumi Yamano was found as the guy who was puking right in front of us. _Adachi, was it? _"Pardon me," he politely said, before looking back up at Souji. "Hey, aren't you the kid staying at Dojima-san's place?" His hands were loaded with coffee, so I assumed he was Dojima's gofer.

This guy seemed a lot less tense than his superior, so I figured we could get some information from him. "Can we ask you something?" The man nodded. "About Mitsuru – Mitsuru Kirijo. Did something happen to her?"

The detective looked up in thought. "Am I allowed to tell you guys anything..? Well, if you guys are her friends, I guess it can't hurt. Keep this between us." He stepped closer and started whispering. "We got a call from Ms. Kirijo's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere. Since it was the weekend, the workers at the inn were extremely busy, and no one saw her around that time." He snapped his attention and spoke up a little. "Oh, but that doesn't mean that this is a case just yet! People are just really sensitive to these things because of those recent deaths." He had a point. "By the way, did she say anything to you guys about maybe going through some hard times?"

"Hard times..?" Souji asked, voice trailing.

"Well, the reporter, Ms. Yamano, was staying at the Kirijo Inn before her murder." _Murder?_ They hadn't confirmed her cause of death, but this guy was going around calling it murder. In this case, he seemed a lot less uptight than his co-workers. "Apparently Ms. Yamano had some harsh words for the manager about the staff's attitude towards guests. The stress of it caused the manager to collapse. With Ms. Kirijo being the manager's daughter, she must've felt pretty strongly about the incident, y'know." That gave us a lot to think about. This man was a fountain of information. "By the way, did Ms. Kirijo ever hint that she might be leaving the house? 'Cause if not, there's been theories floating around that she's laying low for some reason." I hadn't heard of any of it, but anything he could tell us could be useful. "Crap, I think I've gone too far." _That you have. _"You didn't hear any of that, okay?"

"Adachi!" called Dojima from down the hall, "What the hell are you chatting with those kids for? And where's my coffee?"

"Sorry," he answered, "I've got it right here!" He walked passed us and I felt that getting arrested was worthwhile just to hear all that information.

We approached the lobby and Yukari stepped out in front of us. "There you are!" We caught up, and before we could say anything, she was already angry, "What're you guys doing? I've been looking everywhere!"

"Well," sighed Souji, "Junpei kind of got us arrested."

"He _what?"_

"We'll tell you later," I answered, "Something's happened to Mitsuru!"

"Huh?" her voice was startled, "You know already? I kept calling her phone, but she wouldn't pick up – So I went to her house, and it turns out she really did disappear."

"I guess we've got no choice but to go now," said Junpei, re-adjusting his cap.

"The cops are saying some weird things," I explained, "They think Mitsuru's trying to lay low. Her mom apparently collapsed because that Mayumi Yamano lady bitched her out. They think that gives her a motive – as if Mitsuru's the one who killed Yamano!"

"What? They think Mitsuru's a murderer? What the hell is wrong with them!"

"Well," came Junpei's snide voice, "She did say 'I'll execute you'!"

"Yeah, what _was_ that?"

"What's important is that we save her," interrupted Souji.

Junpei grinned. "Right. With the police on the wrong track, we've gotta solve this ourselves."

I liked that idea. "Sounds like a plan."

"I'm going, too!" added Yukari, "I can't go about my day knowing that Mitsuru's in danger."

Junpei sighed. "They just took our weapons. We can't go in there empty-handed."

"Weapons, huh?" Yukari responded. "I know exactly where to go. Follow me."

Yukari dragged the three of us across town, to the south side of the shopping district, where we entered a strange shop called Daidara Metalworks. "Here we are!" she announced as we entered the store, alerting the tough-looking owner, an older looking man with a bandana and a scarred face. The walls were lined with metal artifacts. Swords, axes, armour and helmets sat atop the wooden shelves.

"This place is so... cool!" I couldn't hold my excitement.

Yukari was proud to add to that. "They sell all sorts of metal crap, like katanas and stuff." With a man like _that_ behind the counter, I wouldn't be waving the word 'crap' around.

"As great as this is..." Souji's voiced trailed as he inspected some swords. "How do you know about this place?"

"You know how I'm in the archery club, right? Well I bought my own bow here for practice." That actually explains a lot. She turned to a shelf that held various arrows on it. "I guess I'll need some real arrows, then, huh..."

"I don't know, Yukari," said Junpei, "I still think it's too dangerous. I know how you feel, but..."

"No, you don't!" she interrupted, clearly angry. We all turned our attention to her. "You don't know shit about how I feel. Mitsuru's in real danger here! I'm going, and that's that!"

Souji breathed, "Alright. You're coming no matter what."

"I'll be fine," she said, "Ketsui's the only one out of you three who's ever seen me fire an arrow, but believe me when I say I never miss."

I cleared my throat. "Well, targets don't exactly move... If you insist on coming, just make sure you have something to protect yourself with."

"Alright," she answered, before she left to feel the weight of a nearby chainmail suit.

"What should we get?" asked Junpei, before handing Souji some of his cash. "Mind getting something for me, too? You've been through more fights than me and Ketsui, so you should choose whatever makes it easiest for you."

Yukari returned to our group with a thick shopping bag in her hands. "I've got my stuff all picked out – how about you guys?"

"Y'know," Junpei sighed, "If we wear this stuff around town, we'll just get picked up again. It's not like we can waltz into Junes with a sack full of gear and expect no one to notice, either."

"Well," I lowered my voice as to not alert the blacksmith, "We'll just keep our stuff tucked under our jackets, and we can leave our equipment with Teddie at the entrance. It's not like we're gonna need it out here, anyway."

Souji nodded, "Okay, let's try that."

"Well, the store'll be busy until the afternoon sale ends," explained Junpei, "So let's just meet up at the food court and wait it out."

Yukari turned from the door to say, "I'll see you there," before she left.

The three of us counted up our money and we collectively had 16,000 yen. Junpei and Souji looked at katanas, while I was scoping out the other shelves.

"Have you come to see my art?" asked the man behind the counter, "Are you looking for something in particular?"

"I need something that I could wield with one hand, with a smooth blade, that I could control with precision."

The shopkeeper rubbed his chin at my description, before saying, "I have just the thing. A falchion." He walked over to one of the shelves adjacent to the counter, showing me exactly what I was looking for. It was a sword, about four feet in length, that had a curved, smooth blade and a large guard that seemingly covered the user's knuckles.

"I'll take it."

Three minutes and 15,000 yen later, we left the store with three suits of chainmail, a steel falchion and two iron katanas. Needless to say, we were some very happy teenagers.

The owner, Daidara, left us with something about bringing our own materials in for him to experiment with. I don't know how or why he'd see us as people who would be finding rare materials, but Souji didn't want to pass up on that offer.

Once we'd left, we all parted ways and agreed to meet up at Junes later.

I, however, went back into Daidara's store. I still had some business to take care of.


	14. Meeting On the Other Side

**[A/N Alright, it's dungeon time! Well, actually, it _was_ gonna be dungeon time. I've actually gotten about 1,500 other words written for this chapter, but I decided to shove 'em into Chapter 15 instead so that it could be completely combat-oriented. So this chapter's short as hell, but it's only because it pretty much got split in half. If I didn't do that, it'd probably have to wait two or three days before release and contain maybe five to six thousand words_]_**

**_Kuoffnet:  
><em>**_Yeah, I really dig the two-party idea. It's also an excuse for me to keep Teddie's role as a support guy. He'll still be a fighter, but I'd like for him to give battle scenes his lighthearted narration at times. Glad you liked my choice for Shadow Mitsuru. In terms of the dungeons, I have an idea for every single person's dungeon, but they're all subject to change. For example, Shinjiro's dungeon was going to originally be a police station (in this story, he's the Chariot) but I thought it wasn't creative enough, so it went through drastic changes. The only information I'm giving about that is "steampunk" and "zombies". Take that as you will._

* * *

><p><em><em>I couldn't have been any more nervous than I was on this day.<em>_

__We didn't exactly know how or why Mitsuru was inside of the television.__

__What we definitely didn't know was why Yukari thought she could take the challenge on her own.__

**Chapter 14: Meeting On the Other Side**

"Back again?" asked the aged voice of Old Man Daidara.

"Yeah," I replied, reaching into my pocket. I produced the Shadow revolver and placed it onto the counter. The blacksmith's eyes popped out of their sockets as I pushed the weapon toward him. "Can you identify anything about this revolver?"

He released a puff of held-in breath. "Guns were never my forte, but I'll take a look at it." He began to inspect every corner of the weapon, mumbling a few things to himself. He measured the cylinder, audibly gasping at the strangeness of the weapon. I popped in a piece of chewing gum, knowing that this could take some time. The man ran a hand across the black grip, apparently noticing something strange. Daidara shone a flashlight at the metal, noting that it was unusually shiny. He then pulled out a sharp knife and attempted to shave off a sample of the metal from the hammer, when the tool cracked as he made contact with it. "What?"

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, "Did that just happen?"

The man chuckled before returning the weapon. "This is no regular gun, boy – but I bet you already knew that."

"Yeah..." I scratched the back of my head, "What can you tell me about it?"

"Well, there's no information engraved onto the weapon, so we can't identify its model or manufacturer. The slots in the cylinder are way too long for any regular pistol ammunition. The leather grip is rigid enough to be useful, yet it doesn't change its form when force is imposed onto it. I can't identify the metal, but it's very light and apparently tough enough to break steel." He cleared his throat. "Tell me, where did you find this?"

I couldn't tell him exactly where we were going. "Well, you know all that equipment we just bought? Where we're going, we're gonna need it. That's where I found it."

Daidara just laughed. "That sounds like quite a journey for a group of teenagers! Heh! I like you, kid. Come back if you find any other strange weapons."

I gave my thanks and left the store, really hoping to find some ammo for this weapon, which was apparently a total doomsday device. Judging from how it broke Daidara's knife, I could even use it as a melee weapon.

I took in the scent of the flowery spring air before I turned down the street to get to Junes. Shortly through my walk, I came across a bulletin board. It read "Watch this space for part-time job opportunities!". I hadn't kept a job for longer than three months, but I didn't want to spend all my free time working anyway. At the same time, I refused to be a spoiled kid. If my parents ever tried to give me money, I'd deny it straight away. Ken followed suit, but that could be due to his overwhelming sense of maturity.

The chainmail I'd bought sat with subtlety between my jacket and shirt. It didn't take me a while to get used to wearing it. However, if the need for some sort of leg armour came to light, I wasn't quite sure of how I'd deal with it. The falchion was stored in a box that had a convenient handle on top of it – its weight made me stand unevenly, but I was able to tough it out for the walk.

When I arrived at Junes, the others had already gathered there. The capped crusader waved his arms without much to hide – apparently, they had been waiting for me. "The sale's just about over," Junpei explained, "So the crowd will clear up enough for us to pay Teddie a visit."

"Sounds good to me," I added, "Let's head in."

Junpei turned his attention to Yukari, who was still trying to get comfortable with the armour under her pink knit. "Hey, Yuka-tan, you know it's not too late to-"

"I'm going!" she interrupted, "Whether you like it or not."

"Fine," the boy sighed, "But if you get hurt, it's Ketui's fault."

Souji gave a small laugh. "Naturally, he can take the fall for us."

Ignoring that remark I asked Yukari, "Do you still have those glasses from the first time we entered?"

"Yup!" She pulled the pink frames from her jacket pocket with a positive glow. "If it weren't for that e-mail explaining everything, I probably would've lost them."

"Hah! See how important I am?" I joked.

"Can we just go inside?" whined Junpei, tugging at the blue holdall bag hanging under his left hand, "I've got everyone's weapons in this thing. This is friggin' heavy!"

Conveniently enough, the electronics department had barely anyone occupying it, so getting inside the TV was a breeze. Not that it's ever comfortable to fall from the sky. _Falling from the sky..._ "Hold on, I have an idea..."

I stuck myself halfway through the TV, so I was able to see how far we were from the ground. _Persona!_ Shui-Jing appeared in front of me and I dropped down, using the Persona's wind power to make me float just before hitting the ground, preventing any potential bruising of the ass. The others followed and they fell with a similar grace.

We donned our anti-fog glasses and spotted Teddie in the corner of the plaza. He had his fuzzy paws on either side of his head as it spun dizzily. "Whoa," breathed Yukari, "It's that bear again."

I stepped up behind the bear. "What are you doing, Teddie?"

"Can't you tell?" the innocent voice answered, "I'm thinking about... stuff." _Stuff? Has he been confused about what he is this entire time? _"I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now." He stopped the cyclical movement and turned around, a giant smile on his face. "Hey, that wasn't a bad joke! Heehee!"

"Well, umm... Did you figure anything out?" I asked.

"What?" came the disregarding voice of Junpei, "I doubt it. We've seen the inside of his skull. It's _empty!"_

The bear's stomps said that he was offended, but his face mocked that point. "How rude... But he's right. I can try and try, but nothing comes out of my head."

"We don't have time for this!" Yukari complained, lightly pushing me out of the way to face the bear. "Listen – someone came here yesterday, right?"

"Wow!" the bear exclaimed, apparently ignoring her serious question, "There's a girl with a better nose than mine? What's your name, miss?"

"'Miss'?" repeated the girl, apparently not in the mood for Teddie's sense of humour, "I'm Yukari Takeba, but that's not important. Tell us more about that 'someone'!"

The bear's right arm flailed loosely, looking to tap his head. "I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys. After that, it felt like someone was here."

"It must be Kirijo-san," confirmed our silent leader. "Do you know anything else about this person?"

Teddie answered, "Not really, I haven't looked." He took a few steps toward one of the catwalks that led outside of the plaza. "The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are."

"Alright," said Souji, "Let's get prepared."

Junpei unzipped the gym bag, revealing two clothed katanas, a wooden composite bow, a quiver full of arrows, and several medical items that could come in handy. I popped open the box in my hand, pulling the falchion from its sheathe. Souji and Junpei did the same, their faces expressing increased confidence in our rescue. There was something about unsheathing a blade that was oddly satisfying. Whether it was how it felt, or how it sounded, it gave the user a feeling of superiority. "Is everyone ready?" I asked.

Yukari nodded as she tested the resistance of her bow. "Let's go!"

We walked along the solid catwalk until we came across a dead end. An endless wall stood before us, sporting a ridiculously large metal door designed with caution lines and red lamps. As we stepped closer to it, the doors separated, revealing a red and black portal, exactly like the ones we had seen earlier. "Is this the entrance to that military base from the TV?" asked Junpei.

I turned to the bear, asking, "You're positive that no one's behind a camera for the Midnight Channel program?"

"Program?" Teddie stood dumbfounded, "I don't know. Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world or something. Besides, like Teddie said, it's just been me and Shadows here since the beginning."

"'From the beginning,' huh? I still don't understand that."

"I dunno. Can _you_ explain everything about _your_ world?" He had a point. "I've never seen this 'program' thingy before, so I don't know."

"So, the Midnight Channel's some kind of window into this world?" pondered Souji. That actually made sense.

"Well, the first time Mitsuru appeared on that channel was before she disappeared," raised Yukari, "Doesn't that seem off? I mean, her saying stuff like 'We will triumph across the universe'? That's not like her at all."

"Yeah," Junpei piped up, "That didn't seem like her at all!"

"Hey, Teddie," said Yukari, ready to change the subject, "Do you sense Mitsuru's presence from inside?"

The bear nodded, which involved at least a quarter of his body moving at once. "I'm sure."

"Then I'm going on in!" she exclaimed in foolish determination, running toward the door.

"Hold on," I called, "Don't go in there alone!" By the time I finished my sentence, she was already through to the other side.

"Let's follow her," commanded Souji, "We can't lose her in there."

"Wait!" begged Teddie. "There are a lot of Shadows in there. Be bear-y careful!"

"Crap, why didn't you tell us earlier?" complained Junpei, "C"mon, we've gotta find her!"

"Sensei, take these!" exclaimed Teddie, tossing a small green bag toward Souji. He caught it, pulling something out, which appeared to be a blue crystal with a matching flame within it.

"What are these?"

"Remember when Ketsui got exhausted from using his Persona too much? You guys can heal that by absorbing one of those blue crystals! Just break 'em like you do with your Persona cards."

Souji dug through the bag and pulled out a much larger, green crystal. "And this one?"

"If someone gets knocked out in a fight, you can bring them back up instantly with one of those!"

"Alright! Go Teddie!" Junpei cheered. "This'll come in handy!"

"Awesome," I commented, "Now, let's catch up to Yukari."

We cautiously stepped through the portal and found ourselves in a frozen cavern, which for some reason, didn't bother me with its cold. It must have had to do with having superpowers, or something. The walls shone oddly, the only source of light being several torches lining the walls that held unnaturally blue flames.

"Why is there _always_ an ice dungeon!"


	15. Icy Infiltration

**[A/N Alright, now it's _really_ dungeon time!]**

* * *

><p><em><em>We had become a functional team.<em>_

__This time, we were completely ready for battle.__

__We knew exactly what to expect when we entered that portal.__

**Chapter 15: Icy Infiltration**

I took a few steps across the crystalline floor and attempted to crack it with my foot. "Doesn't seem slippery, and it's definitely strong enough for us to walk on."

"Still can't believe she ran off on her own," added a frustrated Junpei, "I knew we should've cuffed her to something."

"We have to be careful – the Shadows have gotten aggravated ever since you three got here. They'll probably attack as soon as they see us!"

Junpei swung his blade out. "Well that's just great!"

"Stay on your guard," Souji confidently commanded, "We've got to stick together and stay in control of the situation." The firmness of his voice suggested that he was trained for this.

"Gotcha, Captain!" exclaimed Junpei, assuming an unorthodox battle stance, "Let's do this thing!"

Souji stepped forward and we all walked together in unison. In curiosity, I ran my hand across the bumpy wall. Judging by the fact that it was making my hand numb, it felt completely real.

Souji stopped abruptly and lowered his head. "Do you think that..."

"Do we think, what?" Misty breath engulfed the space in front of my eyes.

"...The woman on the TV – Was that Mitsuru's Shadow?"

"Shit..." I cursed as I considered the possibility of it happening. "That must be it."

"You know what that means," breathed Junpei, "Yukari's Shadow might appear, too. We've gotta hurry!"

We continued our trek, moving slowly due to the fact that the fog covered everything that was fifteen feet ahead of us.

"Hold on," Teddie warned, "I sense a presence around the bend. If it's a Shadow, try to get the jump on it!"

Our leader planted himself against the wall, taking a peek around the corner. He instantly snapped back into place, declaring the presence of, "I'm not sure what they are, but I'm guessing they're Shadows."

"Time to test out our new toys," Junpei announced as I tested the weight of my weapon for good measure.

Souji turned the corner slowly and quietly, and I followed suit. However, I didn't even see the enemy until I lowered my eyes. What I saw was a trio of what were literally puddles of black goop. Their shapes had claw-like hands sticking out of the masses, and in the centre of the blobs were emotionless blue masks. "That's a Maya!" Teddie explained, standing at a safe distance. "They're weak, but other Shadows can absorb them to become stronger!"

"Alright," responded Souji, "Remember, guys - the puddles go down first."

**"HERMES!"** shouted an excited Junpei. The colourful figure of Hermes dashed across the corridor, pulling its gun out, which it used to spew incendiary bullets into the party of unaware Shadow blobs. They dissipated instantly, to Junpei's visible satisfaction.

Souji observed the carnage before turning around, a concerned look on his face. "Easy on your Persona, Junpei. You saw what happened to Ketsui last time." Junpei nodded and I was reminded of the mental pain I had to go through. "Also, if we're just gonna pop off attacks whenever we feel like it, we're gonna end up hurting each other. We're going to need some kind of system."

"The simplest way would be to cycle turns," I proposed.

"Right. I'll go first, then Junpei, then you. How's that?"

"Should work," I replied, "Let's keep going."

Not far ahead, we came to a split in the cave. The wall was split directly down the middle and each path was identical. Junpei leaned on one of the walls. "Where to?"

"Let's go left," I voiced, "I've got a hunch."

Following my words, we proceeded through the left path, finding a large open room containing large piles of snow. I began to walk toward another path on the other side of the room when I suddenly lost my balance.

Junpei held his ground. "What is this, an earthquake?" Something behind me caused a small tremor, and I turned to see the snow rising toward the ceiling. It stood twice the height of the average person and it had pure white fur that we had obviously mistook as snow. The skin underneath the fur was unhealthily pale, contrasting with the creature's shockingly crimson eyes. Its gaping nostrils flared vehemently, tossing visible breath from its body.

"Surround it!" I heard the command and acted accordingly, separating myself from my allies. We created a semi-circle formation around the giant while Teddie ran to a safe distance. Souji immediately crushed the card in his hand, summoning Izanagi to our aid. The Persona zoomed through the room, running its blade across the yeti's arm, making the creature even more pissed off than it already was.

The abomination rushed in Souji's direction, smashing the ground while it walked. Our leader sprinted passed the monster, running his katana through its leg as he did. The yeti ignored the wound as it gave a full-body tackle to the wall near Souji's former location.

"That thing's called a Mirka!" informed Teddie, who was too hip to call it an abominable snowman, "It lives in a place this cold, so it should find Junpei's fire attacks to be un_bear_able!"

"Then check this out!" announced Junpei, "**Agi!**" He smashed his Persona's card between his hand and the katana's hilt. Hermes drew its gun and popped off a stream of fiery lead into the Mirka's back. Some of the yeti's fur ignited as it lost balance, falling flat on the ground. The weight of the creature was so great, it caused bits of ice to launch themselves from the floor. "He's down! Let's get him!"

Souji responded with an enthusiastic, "Alright, go for it!"

The three of us surrounded the downed monster, haphazardly striking it with our swords. The sounds of sliding steel and the pained groans of the frightening creature filled the air. Each cut through its thick hide leaked a colourless black goo with a similar consistency to the Maya's bodies. In the middle of all the violence, I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that those monsters were literally just puddles of Shadow blood. That's when he punched me in the face.

I looked up with weary eyes to see my allies picking me up from the ground, the furry creature gaining its ground once again. It released a bloodcurdling roar and it reached upward with its left arm, generating a shining blue sphere above its paw. Its other arm kept a feral line of defence.

"Looks like a Bufu spell," informed Teddie. "That's bad news, since Junpei's Persona might be weak to ice!"

"Wait, _what?"_ spoke a shaken Junpei, "The bear's right. Don't let it turn me into a popcicle, guys!"

It seemed that Junpei could feel the strengths and weaknesses of his Persona, and that led me to think about my own. Shui-Jing would absorb wind attacks, while being weak to electricity. Other than a physical attack, he had the ability to control the air, which was called Garu. He had another skill that I had yet to use. Its purpose was to weaken an enemy, and like Garu, its name just existed in my mind with no real explanation as to how I knew it. However, there was another technique somewhere in the back of my mind that I felt, but couldn't quite understand.

"I can't stop the attack," I caught my breath, "But I think I can soften him up for the next time Junpei attacks. **Rakunda!**" Shui-Jing arose with his hand open to the monster, draining a translucent red mist from the creature. "That should thin its hide a little." The yeti was visibly annoyed as it flinched and attempted to swipe its battering ram for an arm at the Persona.

I realized that I caught the yeti's attention when he tossed the cold ball in my direction, striking me directly in the chest as I wasn't quick enough to react. My body went numb and I was pushed back, but I maintained my footing. "Not good enough, freak!"

"Junpei, hit him with another Agi spell," commanded Souji, "I'll catch him with Izanagi."

Junpei nodded and summoned Hermes again. The blue ranger fired round after round of hot lead into the angered face of the yeti as Izanagi appeared beside him. The Mirka blocked some of the blazing bullets with its arm, but its fur was ignited once more. The beast tumbled backward, and as it began to fall, colourless blood was violently pouring from its forehead. Through its skull was the broad blade of Izanagi, which was standing underneath the half-fallen creature. The Persona vanished and the monster hit the ground before vanishing into nothingness.

I lowered my guard just to catch my breath. The three of us wordlessly expressed our amazement at our apparent teamwork with a variety of nods and hand gestures.

"He was no match for us" cheered Teddie, catching up with us after standing at a safe distance for the battle. I would have asked Teddie why there was no corpse, but it was clear that the Shadow world used an entirely different sense of logic than ours did.

"Oh, _let's go left_, huh?" said an arm-rolling Junpei, "Good call, Ketsui, leadin' us right into the abominable friggin' snowman... Well, at least we kicked its ass and we learned some new tricks."

"Let's keep going." We followed Souji further down the frozen tunnel until we turned a corner to find... nothing. "I take that back," I sighed, "We fought that thing just to find a dead end."

"Hold on. There's something here." Souji crouched down, dusting bits of winter from a rectangular box. It was grey with simple buckle locks on the side facing us. "What do we have here?" He undid the locks and lifted the top half of the box, revealing a metallic grey sphere that was about the size of a golf ball. It had creases that shone a purple light from inside the orb. The top of the orb was flat, with a small handle attached to a square engraving. Souji brought the object to eye level and gripped the handle, pulling it. A pillar rose from inside. On two sides of this pillar were screens that showed the central plaza of the TV world, where we would enter and exit from. The two adjacent sides revealed two matching white buttons. Souji rotated the object, finding the name _GOHO-M_ engraved into it.

Teddie piped up, "I feel like I recognize this thing. I think that if you press those two buttons, it'll bring you back to the entrance."

"You _think?"_ I asked, "How good is your memory?"

Teddie's paw met his face_. _"You know I have trouble with this kinda stuff..."

"Kidding, kidding," I replied with an unintentionally cold breath, "Anyway, hopefully Teddie's right. If he is, then we can get out of here in an instant if someone gets hurt. If this Goho-M thing proves useful, then at least we didn't fight the Mirka for no reason." I pulled out my empty Shadow revolver, eyeing it. I sighed, "As great as this Goho-M thing sounds, I really wish I found some ammo for this baby." Just then, I felt a piece of my mind click. I swung the empty cylinder out, and the slots began to glow, becoming filled with some sort of inhuman energy. "No way!"

The weapon in hand, I pointed at the opposite wall, pulling the trigger. The satisfaction _boom_ of the gunshot echoed through the halls, and a grin met my face. "Alright, guess we have a gun!" cheered Junpei.

"Wow!" exclaimed Teddie, "Your Persona can do that?"

"Yes – _YES IT CAN!"_ I looked at the single emptied slot before filling it with my mind once again. "It seems I can't do this forever, though – unless I want to have another mental breakdown."

"Great," added Souji, "Now let's turn back. We've gotta catch up to Yukari-san."

We returned to the fork in the road, this time taking the right path. The path twisted and curled, but was entirely vacant other than a lone Maya that Junpei stepped on. Though the Shadow blood looked thick as it moved, it vanished from his shoe within seconds. Again, I decided not to openly question the logic of Shadows. There was too much I didn't know about them.

After a sharp curve, we saw a wide hallway with a metal door at the end of it, identical to the one that revealed the portal leading into the area. As we walked up to the door, it slid open with a metallic hiss. Standing on the other side was a pair of soldiers. They wore grey bodysuits underneath curved plates of dark-blue armour which concealed them from head to toe. Their helmets were bulky to match the rest of their suit, sporting spikes on either side of their yellow-eyed heads. As soon as our eyes met, the troops drew shimmering blue longswords in a hue that matched the frozen walls.

In an instant, Souji's katana was driven horizontally through the abdomen of the left soldier while I clashed blades with its ally, who did not utter a single sound, leading me to quietly confirm that it was definitely not human. The soldier overwhelmed my arm with the force of his blade, pushing me back. I looked up in time to see Junpei's blade meet the minion's own icy sword. Wanting to try my freshly-loaded firearm in a real fight, I drew the weapon from my jacket and aimed it at the Shadow's head, trying to line up the shot.

After two seconds of holding my breath, I pulled the trigger, missing my target but piercing the troop's left shoulder. Junpei saw the opportunity arise, elbowing the Shadow in the face before stabbing its neck, causing it to explode into nothingness.

I turned my attention to the other troop, who had dropped its sword and was now blocking Souji's attacks with the heavy gauntlet on its arm. Souji backed away, allowing Junpei's sword to strike the enemy's arm, temporarily pinning it in place. I took my queue, swinging my falchion into its face, destroying it.

Junpei caught his breath and gave me a half-satisfied look. "Alright, so that was cool."

We entered the other side of the door, seeing that the boxed room was an elevator. There were only two options, 1B and 1F. Souji hit the latter button and we were on our way up.

"I know it's hard to believe," Souji suddenly voiced, "but I think I just got a second Persona."

Junpei and I wordlessly asked for an answer. He crushed a card, uttering the word "Pixie," and a small being materialized in the air. It looked like a human girl with brown hair and a blue leotard. She had wings that fluttered at consistent pace. She was no taller than a foot. Junpei stared at our leader's new creation in amazement. "Multiple Personas? That is... awesome!"

I felt a soothing wind take over my body as the Pixie rose its arms. Shortly after, it disappeared. "Souji, what was that?"

He smiled in satisfaction. "That Persona has the ability to heal us. I just did that to get a feel for it."

The door opened with an audible ping and we stepped onto a concrete floor, now in a completely different area. My eyes scanned over a tall, warehouse-like ceiling, colourless walls, and a girl in a pink sweater.

**"Yukari!"**


	16. One Heart's Doubt

**[A/N Finally Shadow Yukari time. Sorry I took so damn long with this one. Been busy. Actually considered quitting my job for a bit, 'cause between that and school, I hardly have time for the fic. Yeah, yeah, first world problems, ironically a major part of the Shadows. I spent a few days doing some revisions/corrections for older chapters, mainly so that the Shadows refer to themselves with "This is who I really am" rather than "You (the real me) has all these issues, look at him and let him feel bad about himself." The chapters changed were 5, 6, 9, and 10. On a side note, I think I'm running out of ways to say "You're not me!"]**

**[October 16, 2011 Update: Made some minor changes, mostly so that both the narration and dialogue referred to the Shadow as a "she" rather than an "it".]**

**Twinkle Ace:_  
><em>**_Glad to see I've got another person following the story. I'm trying to find more time to write, so hopefully the story can move a little bit faster. _

* * *

><p><em><em>It was happening for the third time.<em>_

__I had no idea about her feeling the way she did.__

__I didn't know whether to be more worried about her, or the inevitable battle.__

**Chapter 16: One Heart's Doubt**

The bright colours worn by the slim brunette made her impossible to go unnoticed in the freezing, colourless building that we had followed her into. I was the first to reach her, with a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm glad you're safe," I exclaimed, inhaling some cold air, "Don't run off like that again."

She said nothing, only drawing in sharp breaths, as if she was in a panic. "It's here," spoke her shaky, frightened voice. I wondered what she was talking about before I heard the hollow footsteps along the stone-cold floor. From behind a stocked shelf of crates appeared a picture-perfect copy of the girl in front of me. "What do I do? I..."

Our group stood with Yukari, who was having trouble matching sight with the golden eyes of her Shadow, which stood idly before our party. "Just stay calm," Souji assured, "This isn't going to be easy, but you know you can beat it."

"Can she?" spoke the hollowed voice of the Shadow, pacing back and forth across the room with a hand on her hip. Her voice matched Yukari's, but it used a condescending tone, mocking the image I had of my friend. "If she was really able to do that, I wouldn't need to be here in the first place."

The real Yukari stood her ground, a quiver slung over her shoulder to supply the bow in her hand. "Get the point," she uttered under her breath. She was trying to look strong. Not for the Shadow, but for us. It wouldn't make sense to intimidate a part of yourself.

"Oh, but where to start?" teased the perky Shadow, "There's just so many things... I'm just such an insecure little bitch, you know that?"

Yukari narrowed her eyes and Junpei kept her within her senses, saying, "Don't let her get to you! Trust me, I learned that the hard way."

"Let's start with the early stuff, alright? I've always had an issue with friendships. I don't know if anyone could really tell, but I'm _always_ worrying about what people think of you._ Especially_ at school."

"This doesn't sound too bad," I scoffed, "You can take this on no problem, Yukari." She said nothing.

"Don't worry, Ketsui-kun, it gets better!" the excited Shadow jeered, "Tell me, what do you think Yukari thinks of you?"

_Shit... _"Well, we're close, I guess. We've always been friends."

"Unfortunately," scoffed Shadow Yukari. _What?_ "You're the only real male friend I've ever had. It just sucks because you're such an obnoxious, cocky idiot! I don't talk to the other girls about you because I'm always afraid it'll screw with my reputation!" The clone approached me and stuck a thin finger against my chest. I stood still. "In fact, I was always hoping you'd have a crush on me. Then you'd just look like a lovestruck fool, and I could be public about our friendship. It'd just look like I was being nice to you, giving you a chance. I would seem like such a _great_ person!"

Knowing that it must've been true, I turned my eyes to the real Yukari, who turned her head away from me. "Please, stop this," she begged, "He doesn't need to hear this!"

"Then _your_ Shadow had to appear," the twin continued, completely ignoring its creator. "That's when we all got to hear that you had a thing for _her_. Of _course_ Mitsuru would gain your affection. Mitsuru always did outperform me..."

The others were silent, for her sake. I couldn't do the same. "Yukari, I..."

"Ketsui, don't," she stopped me, her voice weak and shaken, "Just don't..."

"You can't give up on yourself, Yuka-tan!" Junpei stepped up and stared down the Shadow. "This monster is nothing we can't handle."

"Stupei," the Shadow uttered, "Such a sad person you are. If you ask me, you're just a weak little sheep following its shepherd. You'd be nothing without Ketsui. If he left, you'd have nowhere to go!"

"And th-that's fine!" Junpei flinched with subtlety, but his main focus was keeping Yukari from letting the Shadow transform. "I don't care about what you think of me, Yukari! You're stronger than this thing!"

She simply hung her head and distanced herself from us. Knowing that she was facing a thousand internal conflicts, I didn't attempt to get closer. "You're not a piece of me – you're not..."

"Yes. Yes I am! What are you gonna do, Yukari? Cry?" The Shadow began to laugh cruelly. "Mitsuru's not around to lean on anymore. You can't rely on her here. I bet you're so used to doing that, you have no idea how to act on your own anymore."

"I know exactly how to act on my own!" shouted Yukari, voice trembling. Yukari drew an arrow and pulled it back on her bow. "I can take you out all alone. I don't need you around. You know _why?_ Because you..."

"No, don't-"

**"YOU ARE NOT ME!"**

Time froze for a moment as a breeze kicked itself up from the floor, the smiling Shadow now surrounded by snowflakes spiralling around her in a tornado of winter. The arrow fired from Yukari's bow stopped helplessly in midair, before dropping to the ground. "Fine, then! Guess you're not me. _I_ am me. And guess what? I don't want you here!"

A violent invisible force separated everyone throughout the room while boxes and shelves inside the warehouse shattered into nothingness. The walls of the building extended supernaturally, making the room as large as a football stadium. Yukari was the closest to me, an arrow drew in her bow as she fearfully inspected the room to see that our friends were all scattered about, equally disoriented. I called her name before the floor between us cracked, releasing several walls that rose into the ceiling. An unnatural light was emitted from the ceiling, giving me a little bit of hope.

The walls rose from the ground in all directions, leaving me trapped in a maze. Adding insult to injury, the walls grew mirrored plates spread randomly across the barriers. I had no idea where anyone was, I was surrounded by mirrors, and there was a sinister creature out there waiting to kill me. Worse yet, I didn't see the Shadow transform, so I had no clues as to its body language, weight, or sound. The only time I'd be able to identify it would be when it had the chance to murder me.

I drew my falchion and began to walk in Yukari's general direction. The walking space between the walls was only about six feet in width. Being slightly claustrophobic, I was definitely not comfortable with this. "Souji! Yukari! Can anyone hear me?" I heard voices from all directions, all confused and asking for each other. It was impossible to decipher the directions from which they were coming, probably due to the hollow nature of the maze. I decided to just attempt to follow the closest-sounding voice, which belonged to Junpei.

A minute later, I caught sight of pink in one of the mirrors. "Yukari, wait!" I sped my steps up across the ground, hurriedly making my way through mirrored zigzags until I approached my friend, who turned to see me.

"Ketsui!" she worriedly cheered as she grabbed onto me, forehead dug into my shoulder.

"Okay, okay, we've gotta find the others. I think Junpei's nearb-_ahhh!"_ I cut my sentence off as I felt the unwelcome sensation of nails digging into my neck. She gripped the back of my neck with her hand, shoving me against a mirrored wall with the other. "What are you doing?" Her eyes were tearful, but they looked aggressive with the way she was narrowing them. In an instant, her face was now against mine and she planted a small peck on my lower lip. My eyes opened widely in shock. "Why are you...?"

"Shut up", she interrupted before she instantly pinned me harder against the wall. My sword hit the floor as shoved her mouth against mine. _What the hell is happening?_ I was confused, spouting muffled objections that were ignored. While nothing made sense, I had no real reason to resist. _Maybe this is her way of dealing with it? Hell if I know._ I just played along while my eyes desperately searched the splits in the maze behind her, hoping that her Shadow wasn't about to ambush us.

"Everyone!" Souji's voice echoed. He sounded panicked, maybe even afraid. "There are fake Yukaris in the maze!"

_**What!**_

Just then, there was a knife in my back and I was headbutted violently against the wall, cracking the mirror behind me.

"Agh, you _bitch!"_ I screamed in indescribable anger as I shoved the assailant against the opposite barrier, the clone wearing an open smile of devious satisfaction. I quickly drew my gun and haphazardly shot through her abdomen, reaching down to pick up my sword. Before she could react, I held it against the wall with my blade before firing two more rounds into her head, which emitted colourless blood. The clone fell to her knees before vanishing into eerie black smoke, which flew down the maze toward an unknown target. I turned my body, using a mirror to inspect the weapon that was shoved into my upper back."What the goddamn hell did I do to deserve this!" _Do I leave it in or take it out?_ I decided to leave it in until I could regroup with Souji. "Souji, I need help!"

"I've found Teddie!" echoed the leader's voice, "Keep talking, help me find you!"

Using various calls and painful groans, we eventually converged to one location. I pulled the bloody dagger from my back as Souji crushed a card, summoning Pixie to heal my gaping wound. "Thanks, doc." I hung the thin, five-inch knife from my belt. It could prove useful, after all. "How did you know that it was a clone?"

"Well for one thing, it tried to kill me."

I recalled the awkward face-rape I had to go through, wondering if he suffered a similar fate. Having just made out with a Shadow, I really wanted to know if someone shared my pain. "Is that _all_ it did?"

"She was crying, I walked up to her, then she turned around and tried to stab me," was his honest answer.x

"...Oh."

"Hey, everyone!" came Junpei's voice, "Come find me! I've got Yukari here!"

Souji, Teddie and I all exchanged concerned looks. How was he supposed to identify her? "Keep an eye on her!" Souji warned, "Stay where you are!"

We had a messy Marco Polo call-out system working as we trekked through the mirror-ridden maze. After about four minutes of walking blind, we ran into yet another Yukari.

I looked at Souji. "What do we do?"

"No idea," he answered, "Talk to her a bit, keep her close – but not too close – and don't let her out of your sight."

"Everyone alright?" she asked as she ran up to our group. Like the other one, it looked as if she'd been crying. "Where's Junpei?"

"We're searching for him. Come with us."

I kept her beside me, with Teddie behind us to spot anything suspicious. For a moment, Junpei's responses stopped. All we heard were sounds of a struggle. "We need to hurry!" Souji said worriedly as we picked up the pace, trying to locate Junpei before he was hurt.

We turned a corner, seeing Junpei fighting with another Yukari clone. His katana was on the ground and she had a knife held backwards in her right hand. Souji reacted by driving his sword into her side just as she lunged at a stunned Junpei.

I turned to the other Yukari we picked up along the way, hoping that she was the real one. In an instant, she was engulfed in fog and swept away by an unseen force as the mirrored walls returned to the ground.

In the centre of the now-empty room was a line of women, all identical to Yukari. Each of them had their hands chained to a post.

"Let's play a game!" cheered Shadow Yukari's disembodied voice. "Your friend is somewhere in this line of ten. Can _you_ find her?"

"What is this?" Junpei asked, "How are we supposed to figure it out?"

"I don't like this," said Teddie, a worried look in his eyes.

I paced the row, inspecting the hostages. All of them were identical. All of them struggled against their bonds, claiming to be the real Yukari. They all moved in unison, doing the exact same thing, saying the exact same thing. There were no noticeable differences.

"This has to be a trick," breathed Souji, "I'm not gonna hurt any of them knowing that the real one could be here. Maybe one of them will move differently. That could give us something."

We silently examined their behaviour, hoping to see that one of them wouldn't be moving identically to the other ones. No dice.

"It's me!" begged them all at once, "I'm the real one!"

"Be quiet!" I commanded, "That isn't helping at all!" All the Yukaris eased up and stopped talking.

"Any ideas?" asked Junpei, clearly confused.

"The only real difference I can think of is the fact that the Shadows have black blood."

Souji nodded, "So the only way to tell is to cut them all?"

"Guess so," Junpei added, "Well, it'll just be a harmless little cut. Compared to the shit we've been through, it'll be nothing."

I moved to the leftmost Yukari, which was still quiet from my earlier lashing out. I drew the dagger that I was stabbed with, finding that some of my blood was still on it. "Well, it's either this or a full-sized sword. Don't worry, you know I'm not diseased or anything."

I took the arm of the first Yukari, rolling up her sleeve. I lowered the blade to the top of her forearm, keeping my eyes matched with hers. She looked concerned, but also understanding that I needed to do this. I slid the blade across her arm, creating a thin cut that was about one centimetre long. The blood was black, so I moved onto the next one.

"Should I finish it off?" asked Junpei, readying his sword.

"No," I answered, "As far as I know, the Shadow has the ability to change a person's blood content. I don't want to risk killing her."

In a minute, I had cut three Yukaris and they'd all been clones. I got up to the fourth one and something felt different about it. Delivering another miniature cut, I spotted red. "It's her!" I called as I summoned Shui-Jing, which destroyed her binding chains.

Every other Yukari broke their chains and even more clones appeared from nothingness. "Stay with me!" I grabbed the hand of the real one and made a break for it.

I sprinted away from the crowd with Yukari in tow, Teddie following inches behind. I took a glance at the action behind me, seeing Souji and Junpei running their weapons through the crowd of fifty or more, taking the clones down one by one.

When I turned back to the _real_ Yukari, I was shocked to feel something wrap around my waist. I struggled hopelessly as Yukari screamed "Ketsui, **NO!**"

Teddie was being wrapped in a thick black wire, which was exactly what was happening to me. Soon, it reached up to my neck and covered my eyes.

When my vision returned to me, I was suspended above the ground, still wrapped in the strange material. To my sides were my allies, also restrained. In front of us stood Shadow Yukari, made clear by the fact that she was wearing a very tight, revealing leotard with a thong-like design. It was red, with various gold pieces of armour on her shoulders, elbows, and knees. Beside her sat the real Yukari, whose arms were restrained to a chair by a supernaturally long whip held by her Shadow.

"You're all at my disposal, now!" taunted the Shadow, giving a satisfied smile. "I thought you'd put up a better fight!"

Yukari's voice struggled as she apologized, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, everyone!"

"Don't be sorry – you have nothing to apologize for!" assured Souji, "We just need you to face yourself!"

"I can't!" she cried, "I'm just... Ketsui, Junpei, how could you two still want to help me? After all that?"

This was our chance to turn the tables. If Yukari awakened now, the Shadow would be caught off guard. We'd be able to fight back. "We don't care about what that Shadow said!" I shouted, "We care about our friend!" Yukari's eyes darted up, matching mine. "And look at us right now. We need you. Mitsuru needs you. _I _need you!"

She froze for a second, as if she just saw the most amazing thing in her entire life.

"You're right."

Her eyes lit up as the word arose. **"PERSONNNAAA!"**


	17. One Heart's Will

**[A/N Wow, it's been what, two weeks now? I'm getting really slow lately. In my defense, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record and Batman: Arkham City just came out, so I've been gaming more than writing lately. Oh, and I went and watched the first (and so far, only) two episodes of the Persona 4 anime. It's amazing and I recommend everyone to check it out. Anyway, I'm gonna try to put out a new chapter at least once a week. Might slow down when all those other games come out, though.]_  
><em>_  
><em>AquaAries19:  
><strong>Yeah I split the Shadow battles into two chapters: One before the host awakens to their Persona, and the other one after, leading to the Shadow's defeat. There'll probably some exceptions later on when the battles get crazier, but right now this system works.  
>Ken isn't taking Nanako's role, and she'll be introduced to Ketsui and the other characters in due time. Ken will be a part of the team eventually. Just not telling when.<p>

* * *

><p><em><em>Yukari's Shadow was a tricky one.<em>_

__Without a doubt, we would have lost right then and there.__

__I have to admit, I was real pumped to see Yukari kick a little ass.__

**Chapter 17: One Heart's Will**

The ties that bound us were drawn back, setting us free. It seems the Shadow was so shocked at Yukari's revelation, it completely forgot about us.

The newly-awakened Yukari stood unfaltering in front of her Shadow, creating a new being above her.

To no surprise, the first shape that materialized was that of a human. It was a slim, feminine figure that took a porcelain tone. Small, elegant markings appeared on the body as engravings that glowed a bright red. The engravings looked like some sort of language, but it was nothing I could recognize. A white cape appeared over her back, extending over her head with a hood. The ends of the cape split into five segments, all ending with a spike-like blade. Over the cloth, crimson markings similar to the ones on the Persona's skin appeared. The being put her palms together in a prayer-like stance. Her eyes opened, revealing an angelic mix of blue and yellow light.

**"Io!"** shouted Yukari, **"Attack!"**

Shadow Yukari flinched as it realized what was about to happen. A circular green wave took its place in the air, blasting the Shadow across the floor.

"Wow!" Teddie exclaimed, "_That's_ how you know a wind attack is strong!" I took a second to think about my own abilities. After all, my Garu spells never looked like that.

Souji loosened up his numbed arms, making his command,"Surround it!"

The five of us rushed toward our downed opponent, who was looking angrier than ever. By the time the Shadow picked itself up, it was too late to run from us. "Give it up!" shouted Junpei, holding his sword toward the Shadow.

Shadow Yukari gave us a mischievous grin. "Idiots!"

A visible green force pushed us all onto our backs. I looked up, seeing the Shadow leave the ground atop a flying piece of the floor. She laughed condescendingly as we stood up to our feet.

"Looks like she controls the entire building," Souji pointed out.

The walls turned inside out, revealing several clones of Yukari that were hidden behind them. "Stay together!" I shouted, bringing up my weapon.

Rather than attacking us, the clones gathered at the centre of the room, underneath their master. Each clone joined hands with another, combining their bodies until they all formed together into one giant black Shadow mass that must have been at least ten metres in diameter.

"The hell is it doing?" Junpei asked as we observed the disturbing process.

"I... I know that I know!" said Yukari, trying to keep calm. "It's _my_ Shadow. I should be able to know what it's planning..." For someone who just awakened to their Persona, Yukari was doing pretty well. I never thought of the Shadow-host relationship like that, though it was pretty clear that both Junpei and I were the ones who realized and exploited the weaknesses of our own Shadows.

"I will not lose to _you!_" the Shadow taunted as she rose her arms aggressively. Pieces of the floor rose from the ground, bare snow and ice underneath. The undersides of the concrete segments were mirrored, just like the walls created by the Shadow earlier. These pieces formed around the Shadow blob, as if armouring it. Moments later, we were looking at a military tank which had a mirrored surface. A mechanical hum found its way around the large room. Its thin cannon moved itself upward, almost as if to threaten us.

I scanned over the structure, trying to find a place where it would be vulnerable. "Well, this is special." I couldn't find anything. "Any ideas?"

Junpei scratched his head. "Errr, chaff grenades?"

"Funny," I replied, "Any _real_ ideas?"

"Yeah – **run!**" shouted Teddie, who was already on the other side of the room.

I turned my attention back to the Shadow's tank, which was emitting an ominous purple light from inside of its cannon. My entire body became alert and I dashed away. The room lit up as I felt the floor shake uncontrollably. I turned around to see that my allies were doing the same, looking at the obliterated remains of the ground behind us.

Junpei turned to Teddie, frightened. "What kind of attack was _that?"_

"That's an Almighty spell," Teddie's voice shook, "No Shadows or Personas will be able to resist that. The only thing you can do is run away or brace for a _beary_ strong impact!"

"That's just great," I sighed, "We've got to hit her back now!"

"How do you expect to do that?" Yukari's Shadow laughed once again atop the deadly weapon. "Just give up, losers!"

"We'll just stab you 'til you bleed!" shouted an angered Yukari, pulling an arrow back on her bow. Her eyes narrowed before she launched the weapon directly at her Shadow.

The clone audibly scoffed as she whipped away the arrow in mid-air, sending it helplessly to the ground. "I know all your little tricks, darling," the Shadow giggled, "You can't do a thing to hurt me."

Yukari ground her teeth. "Damn freak..."

"The only way to take this thing down is to use your Persona," I advised, "If you try anything you could do _before_ gaining your powers, the Shadow will see it coming."

"But... What can my Persona do?" she asked, somewhat helplessly.

Junpei nodded, "Looks like you can use wind attacks, like Ketsui. Just try what feels right. Its actual abilities will make themselves clear."

Souji stepped up. "Alright, I know what we're gonna do! Yukari, you're gonna use your Persona to try and knock the Shadow off of that tank. Ketsui will back you up. Junpei and I will try lightning and fire on the tank, see how strong that thing really is."

We voiced our affirmations as we faced our opponent.

**"Go!"**

I ran toward the Shadow, staring her glowing eyes down with the most threatening look I could conjure.

"Let's do this, Io!" Yukari ran alongside me and she tore her Persona card in half. "Garu!" The caped maiden appeared in front of the machine, forcefully casting her palm out toward the Shadow.

I expected the clone to end up blasting off again, but the Shadow resisted the blast well, hardly even flinching from it. I saw my chance, the blue card already in the palm of my hand. "Persona!"

Shui-Jing had its halberd ready as it materialized above the Shadow, striking down on upon its chest. "You're so _annoying!"_ the Shadow screamed as it sent its living whip after me.

I struck the dark, wire-like material away with my sword. As it was struck back, it reared up again, before snapping at me like a snake. I blocked the second hit, silently thanking the blacksmith for the broadness of the falchion's blade. "Back up, back up!" I commanded Yukari as I realized that her Shadow could easily capture one of us if its whip landed at the right place.

"It's time!" came a voice from behind me as Shadow Yukari turned her attention to it. Izanagi appeared in the corner of my eye. "Zio!" Souji's Persona raised its blade before the Shadow was stunned in place, electricity momentarily surging through it.

Not wasting any time, Junpei jumped to the front of the party. "Try this on for size!" Hermes rose from the ground, drawing his gun. Instead of shooting a flurry of fiery bullets, a red orb began growing at the tip of its submachine gun. "Agi!" Junpei smiled in satisfaction, as the orb grew, before Hermes launched it toward the mirrored treads of the tank. A chunk of the tank was engulfed in flames upon impact, but the Shadow just snapped her fingers and the flames went out.

"Looks like that tank is resistant to both _bear-_lectric and fire attacks!" informed Teddie, "This is gonna be tough!"

"You will never win!" The Shadow ran a sharp glance across our party. "JUST. STOP. TRYING."

Two thin barrels protruded from the tank, lining up beside the abyssal cannon. They turned in unison, separate from the rest of the tank, and set their sights right on Souji. "Look like we've got some more running to do!"

The bullets flew right below our heels as we sprinted around the deadly mechanism, Shadow Yukari cackling all the while. Following behind Souji, my sight flashed as a black line caught his ankle. "What, the..?" He hit the snow fast, reaching out for help. Instinctively, I grabbed his hand, seeing that it was the Shadow's whip that had him captured. I had him still, but I felt a sharp pain in my leg, causing my to drop my grip as he was pulled toward the tank.

"Protect Souji!" I called, grabbing my wounded limb. Our trickster of an opponent actually shot me. I was pissed.

The bullets stopped. Yukari drew an arrow back on her bow, aiming for the Shadow once again. With its whip occupied, the Shadow had no defense, and the arrow pierced its left shoulder.

Junpei rushed passed my sight and I tracked him with my eyes. The tank had turned its glowing cannon onto Souji, who was on one knee and unable to move. "Not in my book!" Junpei shouted, grabbing our leader and running from the attack.

My vision was occupied with white for a moment, the explosion's light absolutely unbearable. When I could see clearly, Junpei and Souji were collapsed upon the ground. The smoking cannon closed itself again before the tank backed away. I signalled Yukari, running to their aid.

Junpei sat up, dusting bits of the cold from his hat. "I'm alright," he grunted, "Souji's looking pretty bad, though."

Junpei was right. Souji was conscious, but when he tried to move, he'd fall back down from the pain. I looked at the worried faces of my allies. "What can we do for Souji?"

"This is my fault," Yukari whispered, "I'm sorry, everyone... If I hadn't run away, this would never have... I'm so sorry."

"You can't give up now, we're already in this far."

Yukari looked guilty as ever. A blue card sat between her fingers. "I think... I think I can..." She squeezed the card until it shattered.

Her Persona, Io, appeared above Souji, praying like before. A familiar divine light surrounded him, and after it flashed, Io was gone. Souji stood back on his feet. "That helped."

"So your Persona has healing powers, too?" Junpei asked excitedly. "This is so sweet."

I turned my attention back to the faraway tank. Shadow Yukari was sitting down on it, waiting for her opponents to return. If she wasn't so cocky, she wouldn't have given us the time to heal. "What do we do about her? It's still tough as ever, and it's just getting smarter."

Souji picked his katana from the ground. "Well, then we've got to outsmart it."

"Strong on the outside..." Yukari uttered, "...weak on the inside."

Huh?" Junpei looked at her, not getting it.

"_That's_ what it's trying to tell me."

"Alright!" I exclaimed, "Now you're talking."

"We know the real mass of my Shadow is within that tank, and it's what's generating all those powerful attacks."

"How can we break its armour?" Souji added some pessimism.

"We can't get through its armour, but we can get passed it!"

"What do you mean?"

"The cannon! If we can clog its cannon before it shoots, it'll implode!"

Taking a look at the weapon, I noticed that an arrow was probably big enough to cover the oddly thin cannon. We started to see where she was going with her plan. Souji raised a hand. "Okay, so we wait until it's about to launch another big attack, then you get an attack into the cannon!"

"That's a _beary_ smart plan!" Teddie added.

"Right!"

"Alright, I see the light," I remarked, "Now, I know what we're gonna do."

Yukari and I stayed at a distance, watching Souji and Junpei run up to directly engage the Shadow. Simultaneously, their Shadows struck either side of the tank with their magic. The automated gun rotated around the machine, popping rounds behind Junpei, who was running clockwise around the tank. Souji dashed in the same manner on the opposite side. Shadow Yukari repeatedly tried to strike him with the whip, but he payed full attention and countered every lunge with a slash.

Izanagi and Hermes danced around the enemy in a performance of lightning and fire. Shadow Yukari was irritated with all the distractions, and eventually her gaze found Yukari and I, standing directly in front of the tank. Yukari readied her bow, and I subconsciously tried to measure the long distance between the Shadow and ourselves.

"What, are you two sitting out of this one?" asked the Shadow from across the room, "That's not how we fight. I get to choose who is and isn't fighting! Now, **DIE!**"

The hole lit up with its threatening purple light. I crushed my card. Yukari released the arrow.

**"GO!"** Yukari screamed, her arrow ready for the open cannon. Shui-Jing appeared, blasting the wind to speed the arrow up. Io soon followed, increasing the arrow's velocity further. The arrow flew perfectly into the cannon, effectively concealing it. Just as planned.

The Shadow's powerful attack sounded off, but instead of a giant ball of death, we saw nothing. The plates of the tank's armour began to fall apart, outlined with a powerful purple glow. Shadow Yukari lost her balance on the vehicle, screaming **"NO! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!" **Each plate hit the ground, revealing the Shadow mass, which was emanating with purple light and shrinking in size. Eventually, it all turned to dust, leaving Shadow Yukari's human figure on the ground.

"I understand now," said Yukari, approaching her other self. "Ketsui, Junpei – I hope you can forgive me. I really don't like the way I do things. I've based so many of my decisions on reputation and social status... I was in denial."

The Shadow nodded, before joining hands with Yukari and disappearing into nothingness.

The room returned to its former size, replacing its shelves and other objects.

Yukari turned back to us. "Thank you. Thank all of you. I wouldn't have been able to face myself without you."

"No problem!" Junpei cheered.

"This means good news for us all," Souji stated. "We're one step closer to rescuing Mitsuru."

"Yeah," I added, "And if someone gets messed up again, you can save our asses."

Teddie hopped with joy. "A healing Persona is definitely an important one!"

I ran my eyes across the warehouse, getting a feel for our hallway-like surroundings. That's when I saw him.

"Whoa, wait!" I called, chasing after the figure. "Who are you?" He dashed through a door slid itself open, his black attire not giving me much detail. The door led me through to some wide hallways. I looked left, no dice. Right, he was there. The man had dark hair, and judging by his build, he was in his teen years. I turned the corner at an instant, finding a doorway with a red and black portal within it. I ran through the portal recklessly, my sword ready for battle. I found myself beside the entrance of the cavern. "Hello?" No answer.

My friends followed through the portal, which was now in a door that wasn't there before we entered.

Souji looked worried, for an obvious reason. "What happened? What'd you see?"

I caught my breath for a moment. "A person."


	18. Take It Slowly

__We fought so much, I was apparently seeing things.__

__Mitsuru was still in there.__

__Would she be safe while we took a breather?__

**Chapter 18: Take It Slowly**

"I know what I saw." They were still having trouble believing me.

"I don't sense anyone!" Teddie replied, "This world plays tricks. Maybe you're just seeing things."

Souji sighed. "Regardless, I don't want us to dwell on that until we save Kirijo-san."

"Exactly!" said a heavily breathing Yukari, "We've got to get back in there!"

She started for the newly found portal, when Junpei took his place between them. "No way, Yuka-tan. Not like this."

"Why?" she asked, "We need to save her!"

"We're in no condition to go back out there," explained Souji. "That Shadow dealt its damage to all of us."

"No!" Yukari shouted, "We have to go back in there!"

I sighed. "I know Mitsuru's important to you, but we can't do that right now. It's only gonna get tougher. If we go in there headstrong like this, bite the dust, then what? There won't be any hope for her."

Yukari folded her arms. "...Fine."

Souji limped ahead, having a sore calf after it was wrapped and pulled by Shadow Yukari's whip. I laughed. "Damn, Souji. What's up with Shadows and your leg? It's like they're bent on making you limp."

"Man, not just Souji's leg. This is my favourite shirt!" Junpei complained, noting the torn and burnt state of our garments.

I chuckled. "Hey, nothing wrong with a few war wounds, right?"

"I can fix that!" exclaimed Teddie, "As you can see, I know my furs well!"

"Furs?" I asked. "What are you gonna..." I was interrupted when Teddie stick his stubby arms out, a look of intense concentration on his face. We began to look at ourselves as a warming white glow appeared on several parts of our clothes. "Whoa, what the..?"

Once the light faded, all our outfits were completely repaired, looking just as they did when we entered. Junpei threw a big smile on his face. "So the bear knows a few tricks, huh? Thanks!"

"No _bear-_sure!" he answered. _Bear-sure? Really?_

We left all our weaponry and armour back at the entrance, Teddie promising not to play with them. We all shared a few goodbyes before parting ways. Junpei and I were practically neighbours, so we left Junes together with some well-earned chocolate bars.

"Hey," started Junpei, "Whaddya think about having Souji as our 'leader'?"

I raised a brow. "Haven't really thought about it. He was the first one with powers, so we just kind of rolled with it, didn't we?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's not that I don't like the guy – It's just... Well, if let's say this thing gets big. Real big. Like, a bunch of people end up with Personas. What if some people _don't_ think he should be the boss? What then?"

Until now, I wouldn't have guessed that Junpei could put so much thought into the future. "I... I really don't know."

Junpei chuckled. "If you ask me, _you_ should be in charge of this whole thing, dude. You know these people like the back of your hand, and people _listen_ to you, man!"

"I'm flattered," I joked, "But man, I don't think so. There's just something about Souji. I dunno what it is, but I just feel like he connects with us all better than anyone."

He took a second to think, munching on his candy bar. "I think I get what you mean. When he was on the ground in front of that tank – I can't describe the feeling, but my mind just said 'Save his ass, Junpei'! It's like if he got wiped out, we'd all fall apart."

The rest of the day passed without much event. On the morning of the 18th, I was feeling a lot better – almost as if I'd never been shot by a giant supernatural tank.

"Good morning!" Yukari greeted, the male part of our group already lounging in King Moron's classroom.

"Morning," Souji followed suit.

"Bet'cha slept well last night, didn't you?" Junpei asked with a grin.

"Well... yeah, actually!" she answered with glee. Junpei and I already knew the feeling. This morning's breakfast must have tasted better than anything she's ever had. "Thanks for everything. It's sort of hard to remember at this point. You were all there to see everything I was hiding."

"Don't worry about it," I piped up. "We know what it's like."

Yukari put a finger to her chin. "So, what was it like for you?"

"Whoa, whoa, hold the phone!" said a worried Junpei, his eyes somewhat enlightened. "Souji, you never had to go through that Shadow crap, did you?"

Souji took in a short breath of realization. "Yeah, I just got my Persona on the spot. No twin brother or anything."

"Maybe you've just got nothing to hide, huh?" I joked, "But no, seriously, that's some freaky shit."

Yukari nodded. "That makes sense. You seem like you're being honest all the time. Maybe that's what draws people to you, or something."

Souji thought for a second. "Wait, was that a compliment?"

"I don't know, what do you think?" she joked Yukari, "Anyways, when are we going back for Mitsuru?"

I seemed to forget what she was just saying as the school's bell rung. "Oh, crap," breathed Junpei as he began to dash out of the room, "I still gotta take a leak!"

I strolled over to my desk and began getting my stuff together. I began to overhear them talking again.

"Hey, um... Thanks for saving me," said a grateful Yukari, "The guys are cool and all, but... Well, I really feel like I can rely on you."

A subtle smile made its way on my face. _You go, man!_

After classes ended, I made my way to my locker and equipped the weighted accessories I'd bought the day Junpei faced his Shadow. The anklets fit comfortably above my shoe, and they forced me to put in just a little bit of effort when I walked. The gloves were thankfully open-fingered gloves and brought gravity down harder on the top of my hand. With tiny holes in the material, my skin was allowed to breath. Putting them on for the first time, I realized that I actually dug the image they gave me. The gloves were black with yellow lining. While I might have looked goofy, I sure felt that it would be completely badass to punch a Shadow out with these on. What's important is that if I fought with these on, I'd become a lot stronger.

Through the door, I spotted Souji leaving. "Hey, wait up!" I ran up to him, my body still adjusting to the added weight. "I know the other two have probably been bugging you about this, but..."

"Yes, Ketsui," he interrupted, "We're definitely going back in today."

We told the other half of the team as we began our walk to the department store. "So, are you comfortable with this?" I asked.

"With what?"

"Being our leader. I mean, we kind of just volunteered you for it. Junpei and I agree that you're doing a bang-up job, but are you okay with it?"

"Actually, I'm perfectly fine with it," Souji assured, "I've never done something like this before, but it just comes naturally."

I nodded. "Great. I just wanted to make sure you weren't feeling pressured or anything."

"Thanks for the concern. I'm sure we're all a bit nervous right now."

I stopped walking, and so did Souji. He turned to me and I shook my head. "Don't be. Since the day we went into that world I've known we can handle this. Together, we're an unstoppable force. Never forget it." For a moment, Souji's eyes opened widely and lit up. "Whoa, what was that?"

He cleared his throat. "It's, uh... It's nothing. Let's keep going."


	19. On Thin Ice

**[A/N It's been a while, huh? Nah, I'm not dead. When I should've been writing, I'd been spending most of my free time playing the games that came out in November. I also spent some time recreating how the story would play out. I didn't want this story to roll the same way as the original, with the investigation team always working completely together. I went into my plans, wanting to create a sense of doubt that would appear later on in the story. I just had some trouble properly incorporating it. I also looked into adding an new plot device that would give Ketsui another role that has to do with the investigation and the villain. You won't be seeing these thingamajigs until later on. Also, I'd love to say I'd be working faster, but hell, upcoming is Soulcalibur V and Mass Effect 3, so I can't say for certain that I'll be working on the story often.]**

* * *

><p><em><em>It had only been a day.<br>We were already back in there, looking for our friend.  
>Danger was everywhere, but it didn't matter anymore.<em>_

**Chapter 19: On Thin Ice**

"Damn this snow!" cried Junpei as he looked upon the white hills.

The portal I came across last time worked both ways. We were able to use it as a shortcut and found ourselves alone inside of the warehouse. There was only one exit, and it showed us the vastness of this world.

"There!" Yukari called, pointing toward a small blue building. "Looks like some kind of guard post!"

"Alright, let's check it out," said Souji, "Be ready for anything."

Heads low, Souji led us to the side of the building where I took a peek through a nearby window, observing the grey, lifeless interior. "Looks empty..." I scanned the room, looking for something useful. "Wait, there's a map on the wall!""

The door was unlocked, and the map sat on the wall. It was almost too easy.

The main building was split into several large sections. The guard barracks, a tech laboratory, and a garage connected to a parkade. A front foyer had access to all of these sections and large circular room. The room had no label. "That must be that huge tower. Mitsuru's gotta be there!"

"So... Where are we?" asked Junpei, who was keeping his eye on the icy road up ahead.

Yukari's finger landed on a small outer building north of the main entrance. "This is a security checkpoint?"

"Wait, that means...!"

A heavy weight hit the floor in every direction. Through the back door busted in an armoured troop, a colourless blade in hand. Junpei immediately struck the Shadow down. "Man, it's a trap!"

Junpei and I moved to one side of the room as Souji and Yukari took the other. Teddie found himself against a wall in the center.

A new pair of mindless minions entered. Junpei clashed blades with one, and Yukari shot the other with deadly accuracy. I stopped to observe the vanishing corpse as I blocked off the door with a nearby shelf. On the opposite side of the room, Souji poked his head out to secure our exit, before waving a hand. "C'mon, let's move!"

Our team ran as fast as it could, putting at least fifty feet between ourselves and the outpost.

We stopped for a second to observe our escape. "None of them are coming after us, and I don't hear any kind of alarm," said Yukari.

"We can't assume that we're safe," informed Souji, "They know we're here."

My ear caught a distant hum as I turned my eyes, as did everyone else. "What's that over there?"

Down the road was a bulky, hovering platform which emitted an electrical whirring noise as it made its approach. The vehicle wasn't armed, but it was like a gigantic mobile rack, with at least ten Shadow soldiers hanging on the sides of it with swords and shields at the ready. "They're coming right at us!"

Teddie hopped in fear. "Hit it with everything you've got!"

We all wordlessly took the command, crushing the blue cards in concentration.

A stream of supernatural energy came from our collected bodies, sending out apparitions one by one to tackle the threat. Hermes, Shui-Jing, Io and Izanagi spawned in a heroic fashion, dashing toward the threatening machine.

A spectacular mix of electricity, wind, and fire surrounded the enemies, sending three tumbling on the powdery ground behind the speeding vehicle.

Despite the power of our combined attack, half of our opponents still remained, and it didn't take long for them to reach us. I prepared my weapon just before one of the colourless troops leaped from the machine, landing a clean slash to my right shoulder. I was lucky, being a lefty. It seemed that even Shadows assumed that the right side was always dominant. Instinct caused me to smash the dark helmet of my attacker with the hilt of my sword. The voiceless troop stumbled backward, where he was struck to the ground by one of Yukari's arrows. Another Shadow came to me, and I clashed blades with it before its back was littered with Hermes' flames. My attention was captured by the minion fighting our leader. Souji's katana had light surging through it as it was shoved into the enemy's abdomen. The Shadow shook violently as it was electrocuted, vanishing in death.

"Whoa!" shouted Junpei, "How'd you do that?"

Souji gave his sword an intruiged look, before replying, "I'm... I'm not sure." The weapon pulsed with energy for a few more seconds before returning to its original state.

"Hey, come see this!" Yukari called. We followed Yukari to the round cockpit of the odd vehicle. It didn't have a wheel, or pedals, or even cup holders. There was just a mechanical sphere that was attached to the front. The ball had two discrete plates carved into either side. "Do you know anything about this machine, Teddie?"

"Not a clue," he answered with a frown. "But, that doesn't mean a bear can't try!" Teddie plopped down onto the rigid seat, before he curiously stuck his stubby arms onto the contraption in front of him. He pressed his paws into the plates and the machine lifted itself from the white ground.

"Oh, hell yeah, bear!" I cheered, "Let's get moving!"

I led the others onto the platform-like structure behind the cockpit. In the center was a set of bars we were able to hold onto. The machine emitted an electronic whirr as Teddie drove us toward our destination: The menacing base where Mitsuru must have been.

Some time later, unnatural air fought against the ever-present wind. "These fools would do anything for me," spoke Mitsuru's voice through the sky. "What is someone to do with that kind of power?"

I tried to follow the voice, only spotting the snowy mountains and the Shadow base. "Mitsuru..?"

"I wonder how Yukari feels about this?" the voice continued, before fading away.

"What... What was that?" asked Yukari.

"Seems like when a person creates an area in this world, their thoughts are heard," explained Teddie.

"When we went to look for Konishi-san, the same thing happened," said Souji."

"Hey, what are we gonna do when we actually get there?" asked Junpei, preventing his hat from flying away in the vicious wind. "Kill everything in sight until we find Mitsuru?"

Yukari sighed. "Something tells me that's not going to work, Stupei."

"Remember the map?" Souji rhetorically asked. "The front is probably a bad idea, so let's enter through the parkade and get to the tower," he explained, pointing at the sky-scraping structure that appeared to be made of ice.

"Well, I hope it's not slippery!" Teddie remarked. He was met by disappointed looks. "What?"

"Man, just drive!"

The machine hummed louder as it increased its speed. Following a path of glowing cyan lights in the ground, Teddie brought us into a large open parkade filled with similar vehicles.

Souji pointed at a wide entrance in the building. "We can probably get into the rest of the compound from there."

I looked up to see a swarm of small, metallic objects floating at an ominously slow speed in our direction. "Uhhh, we should do this quick, Teddie. I don't want those things to catch up to us."

Junpei squinted above to the flying objects. "What are those?" From this distance, they just looked like floating grey spheres.

Suddenly, a series of high-pitched cries echoed throughout the area and the objects darted toward us. "TEDDIE!"

"I'm on it!" the bear responded in a panic, dashing us into the hangar. Everyone dismounted the Shadow car. To the right of the entrance, I spotted a lever with a green light above it. Knowing that the swarm was headed our way, I sprinted toward the switch and pulled it down, seeing that the mechanical door was starting to close.

On the opposite side of the room was a broad, colourless hallway. "Ketsui, hurry up!" Yukari called, already heading down the corridor with the others.

We found ourselves between four different doors with no sense of direction. "Where to, now?"

The high-pitched sounds returned, and I turned around to see that about half of the swarm made it through the door before it closed. Junpei raised his sword. "They're... bats?"

"**GARU!**" I casted the spell, sending the group of flying metal rats back into a wall. "We don't have much time, choose a door!"

"This way!" commanded Souji, breaking through one of the many steel doors in the room. It led to a dark, empty room containing another door. Behind it was a swirly black and red portal – the same kind as the one that led me back to the entrance.

"Let's get outta here!"

Everyone sat around Mitsuru's portal, catching their breath. "Man, that was convenient!" Junpei exclaimed, "Wonder what would happen if one of us got caught by all those bats?"

Yukari shuddered. "Let's not talk about that..."

"Alright, I think that's far enough for today," Teddie breathed, "You guys need to take a break."


	20. Green Apple

**[A/N Hey, back again after all these, err... _months_. Yeah, I know, it's been a helluva long time. I gotta give a special thanks to Ganheim who helped me re-write a lot of weird or just plain stupid things I wrote in the earlier chapters. This chapter isn't gonna be very long, mostly focusing on one small event. It was _supposed_ to be larger, but I like the way the scene ends, so I cut it into two._]_**

* * *

><p><em><em>Meeting someone new is always an interesting experience.<em>_

__I figured that living in Inaba my entire life meant that never happened.__

__Today, it happened.__

**Chapter 20: Green Apple**

I woke up feeling like absolute crap. My head turned up and I met my blank TV. No matter how hard I tried, I could not act like I wasn't worried about Mitsuru. Like I didn't feel like jumping into the screen right then and there. I sighed. Alone and unarmed, I would die within minutes. _She's in there, facing the worst part of herself... and here I am, living my day, business as usual. _I sighed. _We'll get you out of there. I promise._

I stepped out the door, just like any other day, inhaling the scent of spring and dew. I was surprised at the lack of a cold that morning. I was just fighting deadly monsters in a blizzard just a day earlier. It must have had to do with the powers of our Personas. At this point, I just assumed anything unusual about myself was only happening because of my Persona.

I stepped into the halls of Yasogami High, hearing a familiar, snooty voice upon entry. "If you haven't heard, the sports clubs are accepting members now," it said. I peeked around the corner, finding the source of the voice. Proudly stood the thin, tall figure of Ai Ebihara. Her curled, golden hair bouncing with the turn of her head. Light brown eyes flicking to my direction. "Ketsui-kun!" Ai teasingly called, stepping past the checkered skirts of her two friends, "Are you signing up for anything?"

I nearly choked on the overbearing scent of her fruity perfume. "Not sure," I replied, "If I can get the new guy to join anything, I'll step in, too."

"The new guy?" asked the curious voice of Ebihara Minion A.

"You know, the quiet one," answered Ai, "Well, it'd be nice to see Yasogami have some bigger teams for once. I swear, we must have one of the laziest student bodies in all of Japan!" She scanned me vertically with her eyes, "Um, no offense."

I did the classy thing and sized her up in response. I had to admit, she pulled off the whole powerful rich girl image quite well. Her bright amber hair stood out, and its even curls communicated her neatness. It parted enough for me to see much of her forehead, reminding me of another girl who I'd never go for. _What's up with me and knowing crazy girls with exposed foreheads? _Ai's hands rested on her hips, elbows out, as if she was expecting something from me.

I zoned back into the conversation. "None taken," I chuckled, "Being lazy is a lifestyle choice." Little did she know, I spent the last few days decimating supernatural creatures. I really had trouble fighting the urge to talk about it. Just one time would do justice to my ego, which had probably already grown to be twice the size of my brain.

My sight moved to a figure behind Ai's friends. Down the hall approached a short, green-haired girl. Her thin arms struggled to hold a pair of textbooks against her chest. The books seemed to weigh more than she did. Her brown eyes were looking downward, far from eye level, as if she walked around blindly like this all the time and it was just second nature to her. Her head looked like an apple. I didn't recognize her very well.

"Hmmm," hummed the high-pitched voice of Minion B, "I think I'll try getting into the tennis team."

The apple girl came closer as Ai turned around to respond to her nameless friends. Her right elbow struck the strange girl's textbooks. She yelped, falling back onto the hardwood floor as did the books. The hard covers of the books made more noise than she did.

Everyone paused for a moment, a surprised expression capturing the faces of Ai's two friends. The apple-headed girl just stared up at Ai – I couldn't tell if she was angry, or just depressed. Her palms were on the floor, holding her back upright. Somehow, it reminded me of when I faced my Shadow. Something was wrong here.

"Ooops!" Ai said with a low, sarcastic tone, "With a poor grip like that, _she's_ definitely not joining tennis."

The minions giggled in agreement as I shot Ai a glare of disappointment.

I walked over to the girl on the floor, reaching down to her with my hand. "Here."

Her focus switched from Ai to me. A small "Huh?" escaped her lips and she met my sight. However, it looked like she was distracted by something. She was looking at me, but she was seeing something else. "Oh!" she finally voiced, taking my hand and bringing herself from the floor. "M-my fault..." Her voice was a bit shaken. I wondered if this kind of thing was normal for her.

I picked up her two books, which were actually not very heavy at all, and handed them to her. "Don't worry about it, not your fault at all."

"Ahem," Ai demanded attention, "I guess we'll see you later, Ketsui." The three of them left, walking in a synchronized fashion. I knew what to expect next. _I will be some idiotic white knight who has a crush on a short green-haired girl whose name I didn't even know._

"I'm Fuuka Yamagishi," came her quiet voice. _Well, nevermind about that last bit._ She reached out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

I shook her hand, just now noticing how small and soft it was. I was surprised that I hadn't crushed it a minute earlier. "Ketsui Kibo."

"Thank you for that," she nodded, "Um... this is my first day here." _That explains a lot._

"Really? Well, welcome to Yasogami High – sorry you had to witness the wrath of Ai Ebihara so early."

She giggled lightly, "It's okay. Do you know where I can find my classroom? The teacher is... 'Kinshiro Morooka'." _Well, shit._

"Ohhh," I groaned, "Sorry you have to witness the wrath of King Moron so early."

"...Sorry?" The first period bell rang through the halls.

"Just follow me."

Fuuka had no idea of the horrors she was about to face.


	21. Man Business

**[A/N Yes, I am aliiiive. Hell, I figured I'd have time to work on this during the summer, but nope, I just get even more work and most of my free time is spent with all the games I've yet to finish. Fun stuff. I'm going to try and write more often before the Fall releases start coming out (starting with Borderlands 2). Those will definitely keep me occupied. This is another short chapter, which was meant to be the second half of the last chapter. I split them in half, not knowing that I'd procrastinate this long._]_**

**_Ganheim:  
><em>**_Pleasantly surprised that you're still around! I haven't really checked out .hack much (other than .hack/sign which I never got into) but hey, I might look into it one day. _

* * *

><p><em><em>All this fighting, I almost forgot.<em>_

__I still have a social life to worry about.__

__Well, it's probably for the better, anyway.__

**Chapter 21: Man Business**

"Would ya look at that?" slurred King Moron, "We got another transfer student! Already!" He swiveled his head to glance at the green-headed girl, standing nervously stiff. "Well, ya gonna introduce yourself or what?"

"Oh!" she gasped, before taking a few steps forward. "I'm Fuuka Yamagishi. Um, I moved here from Okina City. Nice to meet y-"

"Ah, another city kid, eh?" King Moron cut her off, "Maybe you and the other new guy know each other or something, but don't bring any of that sappy romance crap into my classroom, got it?"

Leaving the discomfort of being near Morooka, Fuuka took the chair behind Mitsuru's empty desk and looked at me. "Well, you did warn me..."

I scoffed. "If you stand completely still, it can't detect you."

Fuuka quietly giggled. "I'll keep that in mind."

When the lunch bell went off, Fuuka found comfort in our group of friends. Souji, Junpei, and Yukari all introduced themselves to the shy girl.

"I'm happy to meet you all!" Fuuka exclaimed. She looked overwhelmed by the friendliness.

I nodded idly, "Wish you could've had a warmer welcome."

"Thanks. I wonder what that girl has against me?" she pondered, a finger to her chin.

"Don't take it personally, Ebihara-san isn't exactly sane."

Fuuka nodded. "I'll take your word for it."

"She has some major insecurity issues. I don't know. Something to do with when she was younger. Either way, it's all gone now. She gets her kicks by being a condescending bitch to anyone she doesn't like."

Souji chuckled, "Kinda glad I didn't run into this girl on _my _first day."

"Oh damn," sighed Yukari, "I'm probably gonna have to run into Ebihara-san at soccer tryouts, huh?"

"Soccer tryouts?" Souji asked, "What other sports are they offering here?"

"Just basketball and tennis," yawned Junpei, "Damn, I wish we had a baseball team."

Once classes ended, I ended up checking out the soccer tryouts with Souji. On the field, a few familiar faces knocked balls around waiting for the coach to arrive. A skinny, blue-haired guy with approached me with an aloof smirk on his face. "You? Sports? Turning over a new leaf or something, man?"

I scoffed. "No such miracle, Kou. Just thought I'd drop by and pretend that I love balls as much as you do."

"Sweet, sweet," he laughed, turning his attention to Souji. "You're the new guy, right? I'm Kou Ichijo."

Souji returned his introduction before I pointed out two other students on the grass. A well-built brown-haired guy with a band-aid across his nose had attempted to steal the ball from another, and failed. "That's Daisuke Nagase, one of the tougher guys here. I heard he used to be a lot better at soccer, but hey, he still does his part."

Kou pointed at the taller, bright-haired boy who kept possession. "And that's Akihiko Sanada, our very special ace clutch player of victory and all that other crap."

Souji raised an eyebrow. "Someone sounds jealous."

Kou shrugged. "I'm not jealous of him, I just think he's a bit of a showoff, y'know?"

"I get what you mean," replied Souji, "but maybe he's just working harder than everyone else, and it pays off."

"So then he's a tryhard! Ahahah!" laughed Kou, "Well soccer's not my sport anyway, so it doesn't really matter to me. I've got the basketball team to worry about, Sanada-san can go ahead and wreck shit over here."

Souji ran off into the field before Kou said, "Hey man, I gotta talk to you about something after practice."

"Huh? What's up?"

"Man business," he replied.

I leaned against the wall of the school's gate, waiting for Kou to arrive to discuss whatever he wanted to discuss. I sent Souji a message, "Let's all watch TV today. I insist." I unwrapped a chocolate bar and started chowing down on it when blue appeared in the corner of my eye.

"Is that a protein bar? Dude, you don't even work out!"

I realized how true that was. "I just like how it tastes."

"You sure? 'Cause I swear, you better not get all insecure on me! I have a whole damn team of guys who think they're too weak to live."

"Trust me, it's not like that. I spend half my time in the TV anyway." On the inside, I laughed. "Anyway, what'd you want to tell me?"

Kou tapped his foot against the concrete. "Errr – you know Takeba-san, right?"

"Pretty well, yeah."

"Do you know if she's dating anyone?"

"Ahah!" I exclaimed, "Man, this is so elementary! You couldn't just find out yourself?"

He responded by punching me in the arm, "Hey hey, it's not like that at all! I just figured it'd be better to ask you."

"Well if you must know, no, she's not with anyone right now." I looked up at my red-faced friend. "But why her? Never thought Yukari would be your type."

He kicked a small rock across the pavement. "I don't know either, man. Must just be my hormones acting behind my back or something."

"Ah, been there, done that. Anyway, I don't think you're cleared for landing just yet."

His eyes widened, "Wait, what? Why?"

"I doubt she's in the mood for dating right now, since Mitsuru's missing and all. She's probably worried the most out of all of us."


	22. Script Flipped

**[A/N It dawned upon me that I started this story a year ago and hardly ever worked on it. I want to, I just... never do. Maybe I'm just losing interest in it. But I don't like leaving people hanging! I don't plan on finishing this anymore, but as a treat, here's a highly condensed, nonsensical rendition of the events that I had planned. Despite how stupid I may make the dialogue seem, this is actually an accurate representation of some of the plot points. I apologize to those who really did enjoy the story and wanted to see it through. This is my sad attempt to make it up to you.]**

* * *

><p><em><em>What am I alive for?<em>_

__This is just a fan fic, isn't it?__

__What kind of name is Ketsui, anyway?!__

**Chapter 22: Script Flipped**

"The intruders have penetrated our defenses!" yelled Mitsuru's voice over the intercom. "Send in the Special Execution Squad!"

** TWO CHAPTERS LATER...**

Souji stopped to catch his breath. "Okay, we're at the tower. Should be smooth sailing from here."

"Holy shit!" yelped Junpei, pointing out the window, "She has a friggin' _dragon!?_"

** NEXT CHAPTER...**

Ketsui decides to get into an MMO to blow off some steam. He plays Eternal Punishment Online under the name "CapnKibo". From there, he meets the mysterious girl under the name, "Fortune," who befriends him. Both he and Fortune vent to each other constantly and find that they have a lot in common. Eventually, he's comfortable enough to tell her about his adventures in the Shadow world, thinking that they'd never meet in person anyway.

** TWO CHAPTERS LATER...**

Shadow Mitsuru fought with a sword. But then she jumped out of the window, so we chased her down to the airfield. Then she summoned a bunch of Shadows which created a phalanx around her. Then we blew it all up with the power of friendship.

Outside, we meet the mysterious man that I was chasing a couple of chapters ago...

"Impressive. I watched the whole thing."

"Who are you?"

"You can call me... Minato."

OOOOOOOH GOT YOUR ATTENTION NOW, DON'T I?!

"He's not a Shadow!" called Teddie, "But he's not a human, either!"

** X CHAPTERS LATER...**

"I may or may not be trying to save peoples' lives in a different dimension using a magical Chinaman who comes out of my head," I explained, "So screw off, Ken."

** Y CHAPTERS LATER...**

"It's hard to explain, but it seems that my friendships make my Personas stronger," explained Souji. "You know this town better than I ever will. Help me out, here."

** BOOM.**

"Damn!" I shouted, punching the wall of whatever building I was in at the time, "Who'd have thought the killer would go after Shinjiro?!"

Shinjiro's world wasn't anything like I thought it would be. It was like a steampunk city of some sort, except it was filled with zombies.

"Worry not, citizens!" announced the heroic Shadow Shinjiro. "I, Aragakiman, will keep you safe! If we all stick together, we can all survive!"

There was a giant steambot as a boss. It was big and metal. Junpei broke it.

** BUMP.**

Minato walked idly by, clapping his hands. "You really are a piece of work, you know that?"

"He can't be the culprit," said Teddie, "I've never seen him leave the Shadow world!"

"Well shit, he's gotta be hiding something! He has to be connected somehow."

**SHAMBIDDIBAMP**

"I've never heard you speak like that before," said a quiet Mitsuru.

"I guess you bring out the best in me." _D'awwwww._

** BAM.**

"Fuuka was thrown into the TV, let's kick some ass."

"Oh cool, it's a catacombs place or whatever. Skeletons and ghosts and stuff. We're creative here!"

** BI BIM BAP.**

Fuuka's Shadow was horrifying. It was a skeleton half-buried into the dirt with a single eye. The eye would glow red and scan us, preventing our attacks from working. And then Teddie exploded all over her face.

"Teddie, what the hell? Your Shadow was exactly the friggin' same. How lazy can this author get?!"

Minato sez, "I'm impressed because that's what I am."

** OOOH BLACK BETTY, BAM-BA-LAM.**

"Mitsuo's a crappy murderer, LET'S GET HIM."

Void Quest's arc is chock full of "clever" chapter titles, such as "Dungeon Crawl," "This AI Reads Inputs," "Boss Fight," "Continue," and "This Ain't No Game!"

Void Quest gives a heads-up display, and damage numbers. We fight a giant enemy crab.

Shadow Mitsuo actually kicks ass, knocking Ketsui out for the first time. But then things work out because that's how it is.

Minato swings by to tell them how great they are.

** BOOPITY BOOP.**

Aigis can't be a robot, so she's a first-year student named "Aigis Sakamoto." She has overprotective parents, causing her to have anxiety issues and not much of a social life. She contemplates bisexuality.

She is Fortune, Ketsui's friend from the MMORPG.

When Ketsui learns of this, he is horrified to think that he is tempted to spend time with another girl. Because apparently he's steady with Mitsuru at this point, or something.

_** AND THEN CHIDORI GETS THROWN INTO THE TELEVISIONNNNN **_

"Whoa, her dungeon is an empty void called "Hell's Museum!"! It's probably empty because the writer didn't finish making her story yet! Huzzah!"

"Oh no, Aigis followed us into the television because she was worried about Chidori, and then she summoned a Shadow and now she has a Persona so why did I say "oh no" at the start of this sentence? Why are we using cast members that weren't really that important before anyway? Is she going to revive Junpei this time? I don't really understand!"

Aigis' Shadow is a two-faced biker with a spiky motif on one side and an elegant, greek motif on the other side. It wields a revolving grenade launcher in one hand, a sword in the other. The grenade launcher constantly plays Russian Roulette to decide what kind of grenade it fires, attacking with several different magic elements.

Chidori's Shadow is NOTHING because of NOBODY.

Minato doesn't say SHIT.

_**BLARGHAFARGH**_

Nanako gets kidnapped and _OH YEAH WE DIDN'T EVEN TALK ABOUT HER YET._

**NAMATAME HELPS THEM FIGHT ADACHI BECAUSE ADACHI IS A JACKASS.**

** EVERYTHING ELSE HAPPENS JUST LIKE CANON, BECAUSE I DIDN'T REALLY WRITE INTO THE MAJOR, BEHIND-THE-SCENES VILLAINS YET. I DON'T EVEN LIKE IZANAMI THAT MUCH.**

So then EVVVVERYTHING'S FINE. But no, it's not.

The team looks over the new, beautiful Shadow World. Except there's someone else standing there.

Minato.

I'm too lazy to write this, so here's an excerpt copied from my notes file!

"Minato is not who Souji truly is on the inside, but actually a projection of who Souji used to be, an identity which he has grown to reject. Minato technically is not Shadow Souji, but a Shadow **created** by Souji.

Minato rarely reveals himself to the party, often observing their actions from afar. The only consistency in his visits is that he does so every time they rescue someone from their Shadow's dungeon.

He first appears after Yukari faces her Shadow. Ketsui catches a glimpse of him while inside of the base and chases him until he reaches a dead end.

After they rescue Mitsuru he reveals himself openly, complimenting their battle abilities.

Neither Teddie nor Fuuka can describe what Minato is. They see him as not human or Shadow.

After Izanami is defeated, Minato appears in the former Shadow realm, indicating that he has evolved from being a Shadow, much like Teddie has. Because Souji feels that even after this journey, his return to his old life will be unavoidable, Minato grows in power.

With all of Souji's strength, Minato challenges the team in order to test how strong humanity's passion can be. Eventually, he loses to their combined strength, and he speaks of how each of the characters have grown. He expresses his pride in Souji for coming to terms with the imminent future, before fading away. He has jack shit to do with P3's Minato."

**HUMMINAHUMMINA**

The train never slowed down. Souji was gone, but he'd be back.

I turned around to see the smiling faces of our friends, my hand being held softly by Mitsuru. Or... Aigis? Wait, did I get back together with Rio, or..?

Oh wait, YOU NEVER FINISHED WRITING THAT PART. THANKS, PRICK.

**THE END.**


End file.
